Stop the World
by lighthouse11
Summary: Lena Luthor is used to being lonely and alone, and though she could never say it out-loud, she really just wants to be loved. Kara and Alex Danvers are exhausted and in desperate need of respite and care from their war efforts, and find it in the remote Irish village of Luthorsport. But Alex and Kara can't stay forever, and Lena will again find herself alone.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, etc.

I am also uploading this on AO3 and Wattpad.

Please read, reply, leave favourites and enjoy! Your patronage is very much appreciated.

Note that Lena's dog's name is pronounced Keeva.

* * *

Luthorsport, Ireland

January, 1941

The beach was deserted, mostly because no one in the small coastal village of Luthorsport other than Lena Luthor was eager enough or mad enough, depending on who you asked, to take their dog out for a walk in such wind and misty greyness. Though rain still threatened, with the wind such as it was, taking an umbrella was a waste of time and resources. Lena walked along the pebbles and coarse sand that made up the shoreline as her spaniel Caoimhe jumped and played and chased the waves back from the shore. Lena walked with her hands shoved deep into her coat pockets, collar popped up, grateful that her hat was well pinned to her hair, else it would be half way to the Americas by now.

Through the mist coming off the roaring waves, Lena could just make out the towering cliffs ahead, with the lighthouse jotting out into the wild Atlantic ocean; the safety and warmth of the village and port behind her. A shape moved in the waves up ahead, seaweed no doubt. Lena kept walking, wondering if there was a way to increase the light from the lighthouse. War of not, Ireland was a neutral country, and she didn't want any ships smashed upon the rocks.

Caoimhe barked and ran ahead. What had looked like seaweed was now moving forcefully, coming ashore. Lena whistled and Caoimhe ran to her side. Lena hooked the leash to Caoimhe's collar. "No barking at seals," she said, giving the dog a pat on the head. Lena looked back at the shape coming out of the water, and saw that it was no seal. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," Lena breathed. Caoimhe stood behind Lena. "Come on," Lena said, tugging at the leash. Caoimhe cooperated with her mistress as they apprehensively made their way down the beach. "Hullo?" Lena called.

A woman emerged from the waves, almost doubled-over, coughing up water, her wet blonde hair dangling over her face, soaked clothes clinging to her body. Lena grabbed the woman's shoulder to stop her from falling while she coughed up a good amount of sea water.

"You must be freezing," Lena said, Caoimhe sitting patiently at her side. "Where did you come from? How did you get here? And in the water? The waves are huge - "

The woman nodded and tried to straighten up. She pushed her hair back from her face, and grabbed Lena's arm for support.

"I'm Lena," Lena said. "Do you - do you know where you are?"

The woman looked at Lena, then looked up and down the beach. "Where's Alex?" she asked, her voice raspy.

"I - I haven't seen anyone else," Lena said. "We don't usually get people appearing from the waves. Especially not in January, on the morning after a storm."

The woman let go of Lena's arm and swung around. "I have to find her. I have to go."

"No, wait - " Lena began, but the woman was already walking back into the waves. "You'll drown!" Lena called, but the woman jumped over a wave and leapt up into the air, disappearing into the mist and clouds. Lena stared in disbelief. "You saw that too, right?" she asked Caoimhe. The dog cocked her head and tugged at the lead, eager to press on.

…

"Any news today, Joe?" Lena asked as she entered the post office, both Lena and Caoimhe walking sand and water into the small shop.

"Not a word, Miss Luthor," Joe replied. If anyone was going to know what was happening in and around Luthorsport, Joe would be the one.

"A storm like that last night, and no news?"

"Oh, I thought you meant from the papers. Mr O'Brien at the station got a call from up the line saying there's been a tree down across the tracks, so we've none of the morning papers from Dublin. No morning mail. No nothing. Mr O'Brien said he'll let me know as soon as he does when the tracks are cleared again."

"Lucky there was nothing for market today," Lena said.

"You'd have to be mad to go out in a storm like that. The boats would have been wrecked for certain."

"So no word of any ship wrecks, then?" Lena asked, fishing for information while trying to sound casual. "Or planes falling out of the sky?"

Joe chuckled. "I think you're reading too many Boys Own magazines if you think something like that'd happen here, Miss Luthor. If something went down in a storm like that, anyone on board would be a goner for sure. Even the size of the swell this morning was immense. Biggest I've seen this winter, that's for sure. Here's your letters," Joe said, handing Lena two letters. "They came in yesterday afternoon."

"Thank-you," Lena said, taking her mail, a quick glance telling her there was nothing of significance.

"Mind you don't get blown away. That wind's still up."

"I know," Lena said. "I just walked out along the beach."

"Aye, I can see by your shoes. Nothing washed up?"

"If anything did," Lena said, "It'd have been swept back out by now. See you tomorrow."

"See you then, Miss Luthor," Joe said, as Lena left the post office, Caoimhe at her heels.

Lena walked down the deserted cobblestone street towards home. Had she been hallucinating the girl on the beach? Joe was right, no one could survive out at sea in a storm like that. Even the most seasoned fishermen of Luthorsport hadn't risked going out in it. But the woman - she had flown. Lena was sure of it. It hadn't been a trick of the light and the mist, the woman had flown. Surely that was impossible, but yet - Even out here, Lena had heard whispers, rumours of super soldier programs. Perhaps that woman was the result of one of those? Did they do such experiments on woman?

Caoimhe barked and Lena looked up, her thoughts returning to the world in front of her, where the woman from the beach was leaning beside the door of the Luthorsport Hotel, holding another person in her arms. Lena exhaled loudly, and hurried towards the woman. She glanced up and down the street, but it was empty. No one was out on a day such as this. No one but Lena and the mystery woman.

"Please," the mystery woman said as Lena approached. "Please, please can you help us?"

The woman was dripping wet, her lips looked white and her skin almost had a greenish hue. She was holding another woman in her arms who was white with cold, shivering and barely conscious. Her hands and knees were bleeding. Their clothes were dripping water onto the path.

"Is that Alex?" Lena asked as much out of curiosity as concern.

The blonde woman nodded. "Please, can you…"

Lena took a key out of her pocket and opened the door. "Was she at the rocks?"

"Yes."

"Quickly, inside," Lena said, closing the door behind them. "Mary!" Lena called to the housekeeper, pulling off her gloves and stuffing them in her pocket.

"Morning Miss Luthor ma'am! Didn't think you were popping by this morning," a woman called from the other end of the building. Mary lived in the hotel, and though there were no guests at this time of year, she kept the place in order and ran the bar of an evening.

"We've got a couple of guests. They might be staying a while. I'll show them upstairs if you can make up some hot water bottles and something to drink. Hot and strong. Room two."

"Right away, ma'am."

"And Mary, call Caoimhe. She's smells like a wet dog, which she is."

Mary whistled, and Caoimhe galloped down the hall, where a warm fire and some treats would be waiting for her.

"Can you carry her upstairs?" Lena asked turning to the women, knowing full well that she couldn't lift another fully-grown adult.

The blonde woman nodded.

"Right. Well, follow me," Lena said, leading the way. "We don't get many visitors this time of year. There's eight rooms, all of which are full all summer, but in January, well, room two has two nice cozy beds, and a private bathroom. Hot running water too. Here," Lena said, reaching the top of the stairs and using her master key to open the door. Lena flicked on the light, grateful the electricity was still working. "Straight into the bathroom. Let's get the two of you cleaned up. I'll have Mary call for Doctor Grey, and - "

"No. No doctors. No one can know we're here. We - we can't, we…"

"A town like this where everyone knows everyone, everyone will know there's guests at the hotel and - do you know where you are?" Lena asked.

The woman opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She looked too exhausted to fully comprehend anything beyond the desperate need of her situation.

"Never mind for now," Lena said, wishing she could provide the woman more comfort. She turned on the bathroom light, and grabbed the plug for the bath. "Sorry, but I never caught your name."

"Kara Danvers," Kara said, carefully entering the bathroom so as not to hit Alex's head on the side of the doorframe. "This is my sister Alex," Kara's voice cracked. "I can't lose her. Please, please help us."


	2. Chapter 2

The door creaked as Lena opened it. The room was dark and quiet, so Lena presumed the sisters were still asleep. Lena placed the tray she was carrying on top of the chest of draws, and tip-toed across to close the curtains.

"Lena?"

"I - oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Lena said. If she'd been asked, she wasn't entirely sure she could articulate why she had come back to the hotel. Her house was warm, she had plenty to do, and Mary could have taken care of their guests. Yet Lena had walked back down to town in the dark and the cold, just to check on the Danvers sisters.

"It's all right," Kara said, propping herself up and flicking on the bedside lamp. "What's the time?"

"Just past six o'clock in the evening. It's still Tuesday, you haven't slept for a whole day or anything," Lena replied, giving what she hoped was an encouraging smile. It had taken almost an hour from the time the Lena had brought the Danvers sisters into the hotel to getting them both tucked up in bed. Mary had found them nightgowns and something warm from the large collection of lost and found items they had at the hotel.

Kara nodded and looked around the room. The furniture and decor of the room was somewhat dated but in good condition, and the room felt cosy and warm, with extra blankets on the beds and the ashes of a small fire glowing in the hearth. Kara rubbed her eyes and sat up properly. Her hair was a mess, but there was colour in her cheeks, and something about the slightly-too-big knitted red cardigan she was wearing over her nightgown made Lena smile.

"Alex?" Kara said, looking at her sister in the next bed. "Hey, Alex?"

"Mmm…" Alex groaned. Lena and Mary and washed the lacerations on Alex's hands and knees with alcohol and bandaged them as best they could. She'd been shivering, her breath had been raspy and irregular, and she had fighting to remain conscious throughout. Alex's condition had frightened Lena, but Kara pleaded for them not to call for the doctor. Lena had compromised that if Alex's condition didn't improve overnight, she'd call the doctor in the morning, as she had no intention of calling the mortician.

Kara grinned in relief at hearing her sister's voice. "I think it's dinner time?" she as much to Lena as to Alex, looking at the tray on the draws.

"And fresh hot water bottles," Lena said, handing them out. "The other ones have probably gone cold. Plus, I thought you'd be hungry. I asked Mary to make you something nice and simple. It's beef bone broth with a couple of vegetables and some bread and butter. And tea, of course. Hot and strong. I didn't want you to go all night without anything to eat."

Kara grinned. "I am famished."

"Don't get up," Lena said, bringing the tray over to Kara. She flicked out the legs from under the tray so it sat over Kara's lap without resting on her legs. "Sorry there's only one tray, but I wasn't sure how much Alex would want."

"Alex, you have to eat something," Kara said, pouring a cup of tea, and taking the lid off the big bowl of soup.

Alex mumbled in reply.

"I'll leave you to it," Lena said, making for the door.

"Stay," Kara said and smiled. "Please."

Kara's smile made Lena feel warmer than a hot bath or a warm fire after a walk in the wind, and she smiled back.

"Tell me about this place. Where are we?" Kara said, generously buttering a slice of bread. There were no food rations in Ireland, and Lena wondered when Kara had last had access to so much butter.

"Luthorsport," Lena replied.

"In Ireland? Guessing by your accent," Kara said.

"Yes," Lena said. "How did you end up here?"

"We got - lost," Alex mumbled, her words muffled by the blankets half-covering her face.

Kara nodded, focussed on the food, and held out a saucer with the well-buttered bread, and one of the cups of tea. "Could you pass this to Alex?" Kara asked.

Lena took the plate and cup and put them on the bedside table beside Alex. Alex mumbled something incoherent.

"Yes, you usually are the 'mom'," Kara said, "But right now you're sick and injured and I know exactly how stubborn you are, but you have to sit up and have something to eat and drink, or I'm coming over there and feeding it to you."

Alex mumbled again, then pushed the covers back from her head. Even in the golden lamp-light, she looked pale and sickly. She pulled a face at Kara, and Kara smiled innocently back. Lena wasn't sure if she should stay. It all felt too close, too intimate.

"Tell us about Luthorsport," Kara said, dipping a slice of bread into the broth. "Are you named after the town? You were called Miss Luthor by Mary earlier, right?"

"The town's named after my family, actually."

"Well you better sit down and tell us all about it," Kara said, stuffing the broth-soaked bread into her mouth, and pouring herself a cup of tea.

Lena sat down on the wooden seat by the door. "My great-grandfather, well, my family owns roughly a third of the county, including most of Luthorsport. Years ago though, the town was just a couple of fishermen's huts, and they only lived here for half the year. My great-grandfather realised that the only reason they left during the winter months was because there was nowhere safe to keep their boats, and the rocks were too treacherous during the winter storms."

"Tell me about it," Alex said, propping herself up and reaching for the tea with trembling hands.

Lena knew a number of stories of people having died due to those rocks, and she wanted desperately to know how Alex had survived, how Kara had found her and saved her, but she decided that story could wait.

"So my great-grandfather build the port," Lena continued, happy to have a captive audience. "Within a couple of years, there were year-round residents of Luthorsport, and a few years after that, my great-grandfather founded the building of St Peter's church, and the lighthouse. My grandfather saw to the train line from Dublin being extended out here, as well as connecting the town to the telegram exchange, and built this hotel as the trains, as well as taking fish to market, brought tourists in the summer. My father got the town linked to electricity and telephone line. And now it's all mine. Well, not all of the town. About half. I keep it running, as it were."

"And you live here?" Kara asked with her mouth full.

"Yes. Well, not in the hotel," Lena said, "Just up the road a little further. I have a house. The family home, or country manor, rather, is is bit big and empty for one person."

"Do you have any family?"

"Only one brother. He - doesn't live here anymore. What about you?" she asked, eager to change the subject.

"Have you ever been to America?" Kara asked.

"Once. When I was 19. I went with my father and step-mother to New York and Gotham City. My father had business matters to see to, so Lillian and I went shopping and to the theatre and museums and parks and all that. It was quite an adventure, really," Lena said.

"That would have been wonderful. You'll have to tell me more about what you did in Gotham, because we've been there a few times too," Kara said. It was seldom that people cared about Lena's travel stories, and Lena wasn't sure if Kara was a very good actress, or genuinely interested. "We're from National City. Outside of National City, actually. Not that I've seen much of it, but I think our town was a bit like this," Kara went on, happy to talk now that she had a full stomach. "Similar size, on the edge of a lake - "

"Luthorsport's on the edge of the Atlantic, so you know, a rather massive lake…"

Kara laughed. Lena smiled.

"You'll have to tell me more about. All your adventures. But maybe another night?" Lena asked, looking at Alex who had laid back down and closed her eyes.

Kara looked across to Alex, "Definitely. And I'm guessing you have more stories too for another night."

Lena nodded and stood up. "I'll take this. I hope you have a good night's sleep."

"You too," Kara said, as Lena collected the crockery and piled up the tray. "Thank-you, really. For taking us in. For helping us, and feeding us. Finding us clothes. And blankets. And the hot water bottles."

"It's what anyone would have done," Lena said, feeling herself blush at the praise.

"It's isn't though," Kara said, her soft blue eyes watching Lena.

"It is around here," Lena argued gently. "Goodnight, Kara."

"Goodnight Lena."

Lena closed the door with her foot, and couldn't explain why, but as soon as she was alone, she felt as though she could cry.


	3. Chapter 3

"Much to see today?" Alex asked, turning her head towards the window where Kara stood in a nightgown that only just went past her knees, and chunky red cardigan. The world outside was grey, but Alex could see form in the clouds.

"Well, it's stopped raining, and we actually have quite a nice view of the beach, though it looks grey, cold and completely uninviting, plus the lighthouse and rocks," Kara responded. It was the morning after their second night at the Luthorsport Hotel, almost 48 hours since their arrival. Alex had slept for the bulk of the previous day, only waking to have a little to eat. Lena Luthor had come and gone throughout the day, bringing their meals, hot water bottles, and managed to find them a wireless.

Kara turned to Alex and smiled. "Feeling better today?"

"I haven't tried to move yet, so I'm going to say 'yes', but assume 'no'," Alex said. Her throat was raw, and her voice was croaky and sounded far-away. "Come here, before you get cold feet."

Kara tip-toed over to Alex's bed and plopped down beside her sister, pulling the top-most blanket over them. Between them, the Danvers sisters were in possession of almost every blanket in the hotel.

"Lena will be here soon," Kara said. Lena had spent a few hours chatting with Kara the day before, swapping travel stories and old school tales. Kara found Lena's stories fascinating, boarding school in England, finishing school in Paris, numerous trips to the south of France and Italy and all over the United Kingdom and even Spain before the Civil War. "Lena said she'd ask Mary to put honey in our porridge. You have to try to eat some, you can't just eat bread or toast. I know you're sick, but it will help, I promise."

"Which one of us has medical training?" Alex teased.

Kara chuckled and lay down beside Alex, pulling the blanket over her. "I'm just so glad you're not dead. I was so worried," Kara confessed. They hadn't yet spoken about what happened, how they'd ended up in Luthorsport. "You were so cold, Alex. You were barely conscious, and bleeding, and your breathing was so ragged, and I was_ so_ afraid."

Alex leant her head into Kara's shoulder. Her body ached, her head ached, it hurt to breathe, she could hardly use her hands, and yesterday had needed to be carried by Kara to the bathroom and back. "I was afraid too, you know," she murmured looking Kara in the eye.

Kara tensed up and looked away.

"Not just yesterday," Alex continued, "For months. Since we crossed the Atlantic, really. Every night I never knew if you were going to come back. And sometimes you come back in a pretty awful state."

"Every night you worked," Kara said. "You were working what, 16 hours shifts?"

"Kara, you were running into burning buildings. You were redirecting bombs and incendiary devices away from populated areas, pulling airmen out of crashing planes…"

"You weren't eating, you were barely sleeping."

"I couldn't just leave," Alex said, getting defensive. "People needed me. I had to help."

"I had to help too!" Kara cried, "That was why we were there! We're volunteers, Alex. London needed us. It - it still does. We knew what we were getting into, we - "

"We had no idea what we were getting into, Kara," Alex said. "None at all. How could we? We had no idea of what hell looked like until we walked straight into it. And it nearly killed us. No one knew they were going to try and flatten the whole damned city. H knew needed a break, and - "

"I didn't need a break or a rest or anything," Kara protested, her eyes full of hot, angry tears. Alex was right, but she was loath to admit it. "I was fine. I am fine."

"You fell out of the sky, Kara," Alex said, her voice barely above a whisper. "As I was falling - I wasn't worried about me. I knew there was water below. I could see the lighthouse. But through the mist - I could see you, too. And I didn't know if you were conscious. I called out and you didn't respond. I didn't know what had happened. What did happen, Kara?"

Kara stared at the ceiling. "I don't know," she mumbled.

"Were you hit by something?"

Kara shrugged. "I don't know. I think I blacked out. Because I remember thinking that I couldn't drop you. I couldn't let you fall. But somehow, I knew I already had. And then," Kara swallowed. "Then I was in the water. And I couldn't find you," she said, choking up at the memory. "The waves were too big, and I - I let them carry me in. And then Lena found me, and - "

"Lena found you?" Alex asked.

"On the beach. She was walking her dog. Did you see Caoimhe yesterday? She was lying on my bed for a while. She's so cute and has the softest ears, and - "

"Kara, how do you know Lena saw you on the beach?" Alex asked, cutting Kara off.

"I spoke to her. She told me her name, but I had to find you."

Alex's eyes widened. "You went back into the water?"

"Yes! I couldn't leave you. I couldn't let you drown."

"But - but you flew, Kara. I saw you overhead. And then you were on the rocks, pulling me up, and - Kara, did Lena see you fly?"

"I - I'm not…" Kara avoided Alex's eye.

"Kara, did she see you fly?"

"I don't know!" Kara cried, "It was dull and wet and misty and I had to find you, Alex. I had to. This is all my fault, so - "

"What? No," Alex said, reaching out from under the covers to take Kara's hand, even though pain shot up her arm and through her shoulder. "Kara, something happened to you. Something outside of your control. We will figure it out, all right? But - there's something else. Something we may need to be a bit sensitive about. Lena mentioned a brother the other night, didn't she?"

Kara rolled onto her side, holding Alex's hand. "I had a bad feeling her name was familiar…"

"And for all the wrong reasons. If that brother is who I think he might be, then - "

"She's not like that, Alex. She's not."

"I - I want to believe that, Kara, I really do. Because she has only been beyond kind and caring and hospitable towards us, but Kara - "

"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Kara said, "Just the same surname. I mean, we're not the only Danverses in the world, and some of them are bound to have done terrible stuff, right? It doesn't mean that we're like that. We're good, Alex. I really think Lena is too, even if…" Kara couldn't bring herself to finish.

"Even if her brother is the Lex Luthor who absconded with military secrets to Berlin and joined the Nazi science division."

"She's not like that," Kara said. "She can't be."

"He's a Nazi, Kara. And I know right now we have little choice but to trust her, but just be careful, all right? Until we know for sure one way or the other, we cannot be too careful with what we say around her."

…

"You are a magician, finding all these clothes," Kara said, as she walked to the shops with Lena and Caoimhe, the spaniel very happy to have an extra companion. With the weather improved, Alex happy to have a nap undisturbed, and Kara getting desperate for a bit of air, Lena had volunteered to show her around village. Lena had found a woollen dress, a pair of tights, a hat, and a ladies houndstooth coat from the hotel's lost-and-found collection. Mary had announced that she had managed to dry out the Danvers sisters' boots without ruining the leather, though their clothes were still with Mrs Morley who did the laundry.

"You have no idea how many things people leave behind," Lena said, "Some we manage to return to their owners, but a coat left on the back of a chair, or things left in the hotel rooms, well, we don't always have a forwarding address and if no one writes to claim their items, then I guess we're now putting them to good use."

"I do look dashing in this hat," Kara said, catching a glimpse of her reflection in a window. Her hair might be a mess, but the hat certainly help to cover that.

"That was one of mine," Lena said, "Though I think it looks better on you than it ever did on me. The maroon looks better with blonde hair than brown, I think."

"Well, I think you have lovely hair," Kara said, admiring how Lena's hair was elegantly swept into a low bun, with her hat pinned at the most perfect angle.

"I - thank-you," Lena said, not used to complements. "Here we are, first stop: the post office." She opened the door, and Caoimhe led the way in.

"Morning Miss Luthor."

"Morning Joe, any mail?"

"There's a little here. And the papers. And Tuesday's papers finally turned up. Don't know why there weren't on the train yesterday, but if you'd like some two-day old news, we got it."

Lena smiled. "Since I've already paid the subscription, I might as well take it," she said. "This is Miss Danvers. She's staying in town and has a couple of telegrams she'd like sent. Put it on my account."

"I'm afraid you don't see Luthorsport at its finest in January," Joe said said to Kara.

"Our one fine day a year is usually in August," Lena smirked.

"Oh, it seems charming so far," Kara said. She sensed that Joe was likely to know all the comings and goings in town, and since she and Alex were likely to be around for a little while at least, they best have some sort of backstory. "But my sister and I, we - she's been unwell. The doctor said we should go somewhere out of the city."

"Dublin?" Joe asked.

"No, London," Kara replied.

"You came all the way from London to Luthorsport?"

"It was a bit of a trip," Kara said, forcing a smile. "The doctor recommended somewhere more quiet, and well, with all the air-strikes, that pretty much rules out the whole of the U.K. Unfortunately, my sister relapsed during the journey. Need to let our friends know we're alive and well, though."

"I hope to see your sister up and about soon, especially if she's as charming as you," Joe winked.

"The mail, Joe," Lena said.

"Of course, miss," Joe said, giving Lena her mail and papers, and Kara handed over the coded telegrams to be sent to London; to H at the office, and to their friends Captain Lance and Miss Kane.

Kara and Lena then walked out to end of the pier, looking at the fishing boats tied up in the harbour. "It's a good safe-haven," Kara said, looking over the edge at the water gently lapping against the pillars.

"All of these boats would have been wrecked for certain in the storm the other night if the wave-break and harbour hadn't been built," Lena said as the walked back towards town. "It's wonderful to have that too," she said, nodding towards the lighthouse.

Kara looked towards it. "The light is certainly bright at night," she said. She had noticed that the light shone through the gap in the curtains in their hotel room at regular intervals.

"Everyone says that," Lena said, "But they also agreed that it's better than finding ships wrecked against the rocks. The light was one of the last things Lex improved before he left."

Kara's stomach dropped. "Lex?" she asked.

"Oh, my brother," Lena said, "Officially, we're Alexander and Helena, but we've always just been called Lex and Lena."

"Oh," Kara said. She could have prodded Lena for more information, but decided to change the subject. "Well, Alex and I are - well, she's technically Alexandra, but I'm just Kara."

"I think it would be nice to have a name you don't have to shorten. Sometimes as a child I'd forget I was technically Helena. Turns out immigration officials and stepmothers don't like it if you get your name wrong, even if you are only nine."

Kara laughed, and they stepped off the pier back onto the street. After a stop at the chemist to purchase hair pins and combs, medication for Alex and a couple of other small essential items, they headed back to the hotel, talking amicably all the way.

"I'd better go up and see Alex," Kara said, looking up at their bedroom window. Even though the wind was picking up, part of her wanted to keep walking. She wanted to know everything about Lena, and found herself wishing she could share her secrets in return. "But if you come up with the lunch, I - would you mind bringing a packet of playing cards? We could play some games. If you don't have anything else you need to do, that is."

"No, of course. I'll go home and see what I can find. Do you mind if I bring Caoimhe?"

"Please do," Kara smiled, giving the dog a pat on the head. "She's so gorgeous. Well, see you in an hour or so."

"See you soon," Lena said, and waved as she walked off, Caoimhe leading the way.

Kara's legs felt heavy as she walked upstairs to their room. "Alex?"

"Mmm?"

"I - I sent the telegrams," she said, taking off the hat and hanging it on the hook behind the door. "And got you some medicine and a few other things, and - "

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, looking towards Kara.

Kara sighed heavily and plonked down on her bed. "I think you're right."

"About…?"

"Lex Luthor," Kara said, her shoulders dropping. "Lena mentioned him by name. Not - nothing about him being a Nazi. Just, well, he must have been a scientist or engineer of some sort. She said that the last thing he did in the town was something with the lighthouse light."

Alex sighed. "Bummer. I wanted it to be a coincidence, but…"

"It doesn't matter," Kara mumbled, untying her boots to give her something to do other than look at Alex. "Lena's not like that."

"I know."

"She's coming back at lunchtime. I asked her to bring playing cards."

"Not sure I can hold them," Alex said, holding up a bandaged hand.

Kara kicked off her boots and went and lay down beside Alex. "I want everything to stop. All of it. I want everyone to stop being awful and just - just stop. I just want to stay here and eat non-rationed food and sleep and go for walks and I don't want the war to be here too, Alex. I don't want it here. I just - I…" Kara cuddled into Alex and let the tears fall.

"I know," Alex said softly, wrapping an arm around Kara, "Believe me, Kara, I want to stop it too."

"I'm so tired. And so scared. I'm just scared all the time. Scared I'm going to lose you. And then I nearly did and - I'm so tired of being scared. I just want it to stop."


	4. Chapter 4

Two parcels awaited Kara at the post office on Monday morning, one small and lumpy, the other larger and heavier. A glance at the hand-written labels on each parcel told Kara who they were from. The sun was doing its best to shine, and Lena had promised to take Kara for a longer walk, but as Joe handed over the parcels and a grin spread across Kara's face, Lena knew she'd have to wait a little longer for the walk.

"I have to get these back to hotel. I can't believe they're here!" Kara said as they walked along the cobblestone street, avoiding the puddles which Caoimhe happily ran straight through. "I thought we might be waiting weeks."

"Luthorsport may look remote, but it isn't that far from Galway and from there there's the express train to Dublin," Lena said. "Besides, I think it's going to take more than total war for the illustrious Royal Mail to grind to a halt at the London end."

Kara struggled not to skip back to the hotel, and Caoimhe picked up on Kara's excitement, bounding along beside her. When they returned to the hotel, Kara leapt up the stairs to her room two at a time, while Lena took Caoimhe and went to see Mary.

"Alex! It came! Out stuff came!" Kara said, flinging the door open, as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

Alex was propped up in bed with the wireless crackling away for company. "The parcels?"

"One from H, one from Miss Kane," Kara said, climbing onto Alex's bed and passing her the smaller parcel. Alex fumbled with the string on her parcel, while Kara tore the larger one open with ease. "Oh, Kate I could kiss you," Kara grinned, scanning over the letter that sat on top of the two smaller, albeit still fairly large, parcels wrapped neatly in brown paper. "This one's yours," Kara said, handing one to Alex.

"You take this then," Alex said, giving up on the parcel from H. Kara took it and pulled off the string and brown paper. Inside were passports, Irish currency in notes and coins, and a pair of glasses.

"My glasses!" Kara exclaimed, putting on the tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses.

Alex chuckled. "Trust H to send the essentials."

Kara put the money and passports aside, then tore open the parcel from Kate. "My stuff!"

"Our stuff," Alex said, finally getting her parcel undone. Alex sorted through her pile of clothes, all rolled up as tightly as possible, a quick glance told her that Kara's was more-or-less identical. "What does Kate's note say?"

"Mostly that we owe her, but if we need anything else, just let her know. Also a packing list," Kara read, "_You each have one nightgown, two pairs of tights, two pairs of socks, two sets of underwear, two blouses, one skirt, one pair of trousers, one jumper, one cardigan, one dress, one scarf, one pair of gloves. Apologies for no evening wear, coats, hats, or shoes. I'm sending a parcel, not a whole bloody trunk. Also I have it on fairly good authority that they do have shops in Ireland. Stay safe, much love, &_etcetera_."_

Looking over their personal belongings spread over her bed, Alex felt an anxiety lift that she didn't realise she'd been harbouring. They were safe here. They could stay, at least for a little while. The world would survive without them. H would know that Miss Kane sent them a parcel of their belongings. As Kara collected up their clothing, hanging what would fit in the small cupboard, and piling the rest into the chest of draws, Alex noticed a letter tucked into her passport.

"Kara, look at this," Alex said, unfolding the paper. "_Alex and Kara, I will buy you what time I can, but know that it won't be forever. It can't be - your absence will be noticed. Take care of yourselves; you are important assets to this team, this country and our war efforts. H."_

"That is a terrible pep-talk letter," Kara said, wondering how Kate had folded everything to fit into the parcel when she couldn't get a quarter of the clothing to fit in a draw twice the size. "Even Kate's was better, and it's mostly just a list. And Kate is well-known to be pretty terrible at pep-talks."

"Maybe H thought someone else would see the letter," Alex suggested, trying to defend their commander.

"Are we in trouble?" Kara asked, forcing the draw shut.

Alex sighed. "I don't know. H will buy us time, I believe that, only I - I don't know how long that will be. Things used to be so certain…"

Kara pushed her glasses up. "Well, I'm going for a walk with Lena. It's sunny, or at least what passes as sunny around here." She collected the brown paper and string off Alex's bed and dumped it on her own. "I'll clean that up later. Enjoy your wireless program." Kara gave Alex a kiss on the forehead.

"See you later," Alex smiled as Kara closed the door and skipped downstairs.

Lena was waiting in the hallway, with Caoimhe sitting at her feet.

"Sorry if I kept you," Kara said, patting Caoimhe's ears.

"Are you talking to me or the dog?" Lena asked.

Kara laughed. "Both because who is the cutest dog who wants to go for a big long walk? You are, Caoimhe, you're the cutest dog."

Lena chuckled and shook her head. "Those are new," Lena said, looking at Kara's glasses.

"Not new as such, but newly delivered to Luthorsport!" Kara smiled as they stepped outside.

"I didn't realise you had trouble seeing," Lena said.

"Oh, it's not that I can't see," Kara said, "It's just easier with glasses. And Kate is my favourite person in London right now."

"And Kate would be…?"

"Kate Kane. She's one of our friends. She sent Alex and I a parcel each of our own clothing. I'll need to keep this coat though, she didn't include those. But she did include these!" Kara grinned as she pulled her gloves out of her pocket and put them on.

"Do you have many friends in London?" Lena asked, feeling oddly jealous as they crossed the quiet road and walked down to the beach.

"A few," Kara said, "We've only been there since August, but we found a few other Americans, and met a lot of people through work." As vaguely as she could, Kara went on to explain the merits of Kate Kane, Captain Lance, Lieutenant Allen, Mr Schott, and Mrs Grant. Lena couldn't help but think that Kara's descriptions of these people sounded like those of characters from a Boy's Own adventure book, but she did notice that Kate was the only person whose first name Kara used. Again, she felt a pang of jealously, and an all too common feeling of being left out of something. There was much more to Kara and Alex than met the eye. She still didn't know how to ask Kara about what she'd seen last week when she'd seen Kara fly, and let alone how to ask about the way the parcels had been addressed, to _Dr. A. & Lt. K. Danvers. _

They had almost reached the lighthouse, when Lena noticed that Kara was slowing down. "Stone in your shoe?" Lena asked as Kara stopped.

"No," Kara said, closing her eyes, a wave of vertigo hitting her. "More like - I'm not…"

"You don't look very well," Lena said, noticing that Kara had come over all pale. "Do you want to sit down?"

Kara shook her head. "Just - best to head back, I think."

"All right," Lena said, taking Kara by the arm.

Kara was grateful for the support, and for some reason knowing it was Lena supporting her meant even more. It was only a mile back to the village, but as another wave of vertigo swept over Kara, she felt as though she might as well have been walking back to National City.

"Are you going to faint?" Lena asked.

"No, I - don't know," Kara mumbled as they began shuffling back. Kara wanted to close her eyes, but the stones on the beach were treacherous, threatening to twist an ankle if one didn't watch where one was stepping. It took them nearly twice as long to return to the hotel, and Lena didn't let go of Kara's arm until they were safely back inside.

"I can make it up the stairs," Kara said, forcing a smile.

"Are you sure?" Lena asked, "I don't want you falling backwards and splitting your head open."

"I have a pretty hard head," Kara said, pulling off her gloves and shoving them in her coat pocket, "And I don't feel quite so faint now. I just - I think I just need a sleep. Also, Caoimhe is dripping with seawater."

"Oh, Caoimhe, go and shake outside," Lena said to the dog, who just looked at her mistress as Lena held the door open. "I'll let you be this afternoon," she said turning back to Kara.

"Oh no, do come back," Kara said.

"No no," Lena protested, "I'll let you and Alex have some time to yourselves. You've hardly had a minute without me since you arrived, and I - I have some things I need to catch up on."

"Oh, of course," Kara said, "We've just barged into your life and - "

"It's quite all right," Lena said, "Really. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"Of course," Kara smiled. "I'm looking forward to it already."

Lena gave a nod and left the hotel, walking briskly back to her house, Caoimhe at her heels. She did have things to catch up on, that was true, but she felt a strange kind of rejection that Kara hadn't insisted she return that afternoon.

Kara dragged herself upstairs, and collapsed onto her bed.

"That was a long walk. Lucky I needed to stand up and stretch before and folded up all the brown paper you'd otherwise be crushing right now. Take your boots off before you get sand all over the bed," Alex said, sitting up. The wireless hummed away, and a thin line of sun threatened to shine through the window.

Kara mumbled into the pillow.

"Kara?" Alex asked, pushing back the covers. She walked stiffly across to Kara's bed. "What's wrong?"

Kara rolled over and looked at Alex.

"Oh my gosh, you look terrible," Alex said, dread rising within her.

"Thanks," Kara said.

"What happened? How are you sick?"

"I think - we walked to the lighthouse. We were practically underneath it. I - there's something wrong, Alex," Kara said, tears welling in her eyes. She removed her glasses and placed them beside the bed.

Alex rubbed Kara's arm. "Is it kryptonite?" she asked, looking at Kara's eyes.

Kara shrugged. "I just need a nap."

"Kara - "

"Whatever it is, I don't think Lena knows," Kara said, desperately defending Lena despite no accusations being aimed her way. "It's not her doing, Alex. It can't be. It just can't."


	5. Chapter 5

Lena busied herself with the past week's neglected paperwork, but still managed to get it all done before dark. She wondered how just a week ago she would have taken days to do this work, yet now she'd completed the lot in an afternoon. Caoimhe slept by the fire or under her desk, but was now wanting to go out again. Lena wondered if Caoimhe had noticed that change of routine, or if the dog was just happy to do whatever she was doing.

Lena stood up and closed the curtains, placed the letters on the front table to remind herself to take them to the post office in the morning, then called to Caoimhe to take the dog out into the back garden for a little run. While Caoimhe chased the bird out of the garden and did her business, Lena stood by the door, wrapping her cardigan tightly around herself to try and keep off a bit of the evening chill. The past week, she'd have only been returning home around now from an afternoon of cards with the Danvers sisters. Lena wondered what they were doing now.

"Come on, Caoimhe!" she called, and the dog came bounding back inside, leading Lena back to her study. Lena put another log on the fire and turned on the lamps. Her office was decorated in fashionable art-deco style, with a number of pieces from Paris. Glorious, glistening Paris, to which she could never return, besides which was now occupied by the Nazis.

"How could you?" Lena asked the photo of her family which sat on her desk. It was from years ago, she was only about eight in the photo, with thick dark ringlets, a great big bow in her hair, and a very lacy dress. Lex was a young man in a smart suit, his hair rapidly thinning. Her father and step-mother were there too, but Lena never directed her questions at them. They never had much time for her. She sat down behind the desk, looking at the photo. Lex had never really cared, none of them had, but at least he'd paid attention to her, though that attention always came with strings attached. The luckiest she'd ever been was that her father was willing to claim her as his own and let her carry the Luthor name. Or so she'd though.

"Did you ever care?" she asked Lex in the photo. "At all? Even a tiny bit? Because you have left me ruined. Why did you go? What possible personal gain do you think you can get out of this?"

The picture didn't answer.

"I should tell them," Lena muttered. Caoimhe stood beside her, her head resting in Lena's lap. Lena stroked her ears. "Tell them everything about you. They work for the British government, you know. They'd know people, people who can - " Lena stopped mid-sentence, not knowing what she'd want people to do for her. She wasn't even sure what she wanted of the Danvers sisters.

Lena sighed. "Damn you, Lex," she said, standing up to get herself a drink. There were rumours that tea was going to be rationed, but at least there was no such talk regarding alcohol. The Waterford Crystal glassware glittered in the lamp-light as Lena gulped back the Irish whisky. She poured herself a second glass, self-doubt, loneliness, and anger mingled with the liquid courage. Everyone in the village knew what Lex had done, along with anyone who was anyone in all of Ireland. Everyone knew the Luthors. And no one cared for them. Not for her. Not really. Not until the Danvers sisters washed up out of the ocean. Lena swirled her drink.

"Did you think you could leave me here all alone? Abandon me?" Lena asked the photo. "I'm not alone. Not now. I'll tell them everything I know about you. You chose to leave me, so I'm choosing them. You get whatever fate you have coming."

…

Kara had had a short nap, but she'd mostly just spent the afternoon lying around feeling sorry for herself and dwelling on worst-case scenarios. She'd let memories fill her head, the firestorm in London a few weeks ago, all the people and property she hadn't been able to save, the panic at losing Alex in the waves, seeing Alex clinging to the rocks, and horrible, imagined visions of finding Alex lifeless under a pile of rubble, or knowing her sister was just out of reach, and that no matter what, Kara would never be able to get to her in time.

Mary had brought up their dinner at exactly 6 o'clock; Kara had picked at her share, while Alex had eaten hers with gusto. Her appetite was returning, and she was starting to feel a bit stir-crazy.

"I think I need some air," Alex said.

"Do you want to go for a walk or open the window?" Kara asked.

"A walk, silly," Alex said.

"But it's cold and dark," Kara said, lying back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Please? Just a short walk. And when we get back, we can have a hot bath and put on our own nighties."

Kara sighed and stood up. Even though she was still feeling out of sorts, there was little she wouldn't do for Alex. "Fine, if you're feeling up to it. But I don't feel well enough to carry you back if you collapse."

"I'm not going to collapse. And when I say I don't know if I can make it very far, I mean let's just cross the road to the shore, then see if I want to go further."

"Well, you'd better rug up. And you wear the coat, I'll ask Lena tomorrow if she has another one."

"You won't get cold?" Alex asked.

"You know I don't," Kara said. "Can you put on your own shoes, or do you need a hand?"

"I think I'm going to need a hand, with the buttons too," Alex confessed, looking at her still-bandaged hands. The wounds were healing and the swelling subsiding, but her fingers and hands still felt stiff and sore and her movements were clumsy.

Ten minutes later they set off into the darkness, a couple of stars shining through the clouds, and the moon casting silver light on the waves as clouds passed quickly overhead.

"It is certainly fresh outside," Alex said, popping up the coat-collar. Her legs were stiff and going down the stairs had been tough, but she breathed in gulps of the salty sea air, and loved how the wind blew her hair about.

"This was your idea," Kara said, grateful for the cold, fresh air. They crossed the road to the beach, Alex holding onto Kara's arm to keep her balance.

"It's so quiet," Alex said. The only sounds were the waves tumbling in, and the ever-persistent wind. There were no blackout regulations in Ireland, so the few streetlights in the village were shining. Clouds had once again covered the sky, but the light from the lighthouse made enough shadows to help them safely make their way. "No sirens, no alarms, no planes, no cars, no trains."

"It's nice," Kara said, "It's like Midvale."

"It is," Alex said, as the slowly walked towards the pier. They got a quarter of the way when Alex stopped. "That's enough. Sit down for a minute."

Kara sat down on the stony beach and leant into Alex's shoulder. "I think we need to tell Lena," she said quietly, the waves and wind almost drowning out her words.

"I know," Alex replied, "I was thinking the same thing. If there's kryptonite here, we need to know. If Lex knows about it and how to use it, we need to know. If he knows about you or Clark - "

"Then we really need to know," Kara said.

"Do you think it's in the lighthouse?"

"Yes," Kara said, "But I can't go back. I - "

"I understand," Alex said, "I'll go."

"You can't walk that far."

"I didn't say I was going now. Give me a few days or a week. As a medical professional, I am upgrading myself from bedridden to convalescing. I'll go with Lena. The way she talks, she knows a lot more about science and engineering that your average monied landowner."

"She is very clever," Kara said.

Alex nodded, looking out to sea. She wrapped her arm around Kara. "I don't love it, but we've reached the point where we just have to trust her with everything and hope for the best."

"I have faith in her," Kara said.

"I know."

"You think I trust too easily. That I see the world through rose-coloured glasses."

"You do," Alex said, playfully nudging Kara, "But I love that about you, and I love that despite all the horrors we've seen over the past few months, you haven't lost that."

Kara smiled, feeling at tiny bit more hopeful. "Now that you're up and about, does that mean we have to go back?"

"Kara, walking barely a block from the hotel does not have me considering that I am well enough to return to work."

"Some people would."

"Well, I'm not those people, am I?"

"Good," said Kara softly, looking out at the ocean. On a night like tonight, she thought, Alex would have been able to swim to shore. The waves were dumping near the shore, but there were far from the monstrous swell they were the week before. Then Alex wouldn't have been sick and hurt, and Kara wouldn't have come nearly so close to losing her. The memory of holding Alex's cold, dripping body in her arms made her stomach tighten. Kara could feel Alex's body-heat despite their layers of clothing. Alex was here.

"Kara?"

"Mmm?"

"I think you're going to have to pull me to my feet, because it is freezing and my muscles are seizing up, and I would really like that hot bath and my own clothes right now. And maybe a nice restorative sip of something."

Kara chuckled and stood up, pulling Alex to her feet. "You sure you don't need me to carry you? I can if you really need me to."

"Positive," Alex said, brushing the sand off the coat. "And Kara, don't let it weigh you down. None of this is your fault, and just because something makes you ill, that doesn't make you a weak or bad person. If there is kryptonite, it explains a lot. Everything, actually."

"How do you always know what I'm thinking?" Kara mumbled, taking Alex's arm.

"Because I know you," Alex said, "And I know that you've been feeling lousy and miserable this afternoon, and it's all right to have afternoons like that. Whole weeks if you need to, especially given the circumstances. Just know that I will always take those hope-filled rose-coloured glasses when you feel you can't wear them."

"That is a heaps better pep-talk that H's letter," Kara said.

Alex leant over and gave Kara a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too."


	6. Chapter 6

"You're looking better today, Alex," Lena said, as she removed her hat and coat and hung them on the back of the door. It was raining again, and Lena and Kara had walked to the post office in the morning, Alex, though invited, had opted to stay inside due to the weather. Kara and Lena had kept their morning discussion light, while both ruminating on how to tell the other everything the needed to know.

Lena was happy to be back at the hotel after lunch though she had a knot in her stomach. Caoimhe was very happy getting pats and affection from Kara, and Alex finally had some colour in her cheeks.

"Thank-you, Lena," Alex said, "It's nice to be feeling a bit less like death-warmed-up too." Both of the Danvers sisters were dressed in their own clothes, and were the more comfortable for it. Though Alex had initially thought that some of Kate's choices in what she had sent them were peculiar, she now realised that everything Kate had sent was practical, warm and comfortable, and Alex made a mental note to send a thank-you letter.

Lena smiled and pulled her chair over. "Well, I'm very happy to hear that, and glad to know I don't need to get the coroner to come up from Galway. Awful bit of paperwork that is. Now, if Kara's finished fussing over Caoimhe - "

"Well she is the best dog and she needs to be told it all the time, don't you, Caoimhe? Yes, you do. Because you're the best girl," Kara gushed, rubbing Caoimhe's ears as the dog rested her head on Kara's lap.

Alex rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Start dealing, Lena, and she'll either have to pay attention or skip a turn."

Lena swallowed and pursed her lips. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you," she said, her stomach tightening.

Kara and Alex exchanged a glance. "There's something we need to tell you too," Kara said.

"No, I - please," Lena said. She had worked herself up to this, and it was too easy just to push it aside for another day. "You deserve to know. It's possible that - well, almost everyone in Ireland knows, so - " Lena looked at the sisters, and had a feeling they knew exactly what she was going to say. "Lex Luthor is my brother. Half-brother, technically, but - there's a reason I live alone on the edge of the world, and he's it. But - you knew?"

Alex and Kara gave a small nod.

"We figured he was your brother," Alex said. "We know he defected."

"I'm sorry, Lena," Kara said.

Lena shrugged, not sure if she felt relived or deceived, and fiddled with the packet of cards. "I don't know if you can defect from a neutral country," she said, avoiding the eyes of the sisters. "But since he was a contractor to the British Government at the time…" Lena sighed. "I - I'm just sure I…"

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Kara said, giving Lena an encouraging smile. "And we certainly don't hold you to anything your brother did."

Lena shook her head. "I have to tell someone. I need someone, anyone to know. And - I'm rather short on people willing to listen." She felt sick confessing how alone she was, and didn't know if she wanted pity or compassion or just to offload everything onto anyone available. She was used to having any vulnerability used against her, and didn't quite know how to respond to Kara and Alex's receptiveness.

"We're listening," Kara said, shuffling down the bed to be closer to Lena.

"My family owns more than just land in and around Luthorsport," Lena said, "My ancestors founded the Greater Western Maritime Engineering Company. Nice vague name, it doesn't give away their country of origin. My father had a lot of clients in the United States, plenty of quays and piers and docks and lighthouses needing to be built over there. Lex spent about five years there when I was still at school and expanded the company into new fields. Chemistry was his forte and he ended up in submarine development, sea-to-air missile development, plus heating, cooling and lighting naval, passenger and commercial ships. He's clever. Very clever. I - "

Lena paused and sighed. "While he was in America, Lex became obsessed. I'm not quite sure what with, I was still at school, and was lucky to get one letter a term from him. But he came back in the summer, and he was so overjoyed, almost manic. He wouldn't tell me what he was working on, but he went on and on about his new friend Mr Kent and the wonderful things they were going to do together."

Kara looked at Alex, who gave a small shrug.

"But a couple of years later," Lena continued, not noticing the exchange between the sisters, "Lex returned for good, vowing never to return to America and cursing this Mr Kent. I don't know what happened. Later that year was when I went to America with my father and step-mother, but everyone was very pleasant and whatever world-ending fallout Lex thought he had endured was nowhere to be seen."

"When was this?" Alex asked.

"1930," Lena replied. "After we returned I started at Trinity College in Dublin and spent four years there, but never graduated, thanks to Lex. That was when our father passed away and Lex - he's always been very good at manipulating me. When I was little I didn't understand what he was doing, but by time I was about 14 or 15, and I noticed the other girls at school doing the same thing, I understood what it was, but it was too late, and Lex knew it. He knew people at the university, and because I had displeased him, he made sure that all my credits added up to nothing."

"What were you studying?" Kara asked.

"All sorts of things," Lena said, smiling faintly. She had enjoyed a small amount of freedom during those years that she had seldom had throughout her life. "I chose what I wanted. Mostly maths and physics and biology, but also chemistry, engineering, accounting, agriculture, classics, theology - it was Trinity College after all."

"But you displeased Lex?" Alex asked.

Lena swallowed. "I was engaged. Lex approved of the match. James was clever, nice, handsome, reasonably well-off, though my personal wealth meant that his being less wasn't a concern, since I'd be able to support myself. Everything you could want in a husband. But as soon as we were engaged," Lena sighed, absent-mindedly wringing her hands, "I kept finding excuses not to see him. I refused to set a date for the wedding, inventing more excuses and reasons why I wanted to wait. Eventually I worked up the courage to call the engagement off. I guess I did it the coward's way, wrote a letter, popped the ring in the envelope and sent it off to him. But after I dropped that letter in the post, I felt the most immense relief. I still remember thinking that if ending something felt that right, then it had to be the right thing to do." She bit her lip and looked over Alex's shoulder out the window. Lena had never discussed this with anyone.

"But Lex wasn't happy?" Kara asked.

Lena leant forward to pat Caoimhe, who sat up at her mistress's touch. "No. Marrying me off would mean he'd be free of me," she said. "But now I was tainted. I never saw or heard from my then ex-fiancé again. Lex forced me to finish my studies at the end of the semester and return to the family home. It's about three miles from Luthorsport, and even though I can drive, he would hide the keys to the car, and keep it locked up after he realised I knew how to hot-wire it. So I was trapped. I'd walk to Luthorsport once or twice a week, weather allowing, but," Lena sighed and shrugged.

Kara wanted to wrap her arm around Lena, to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right now. Lena looked so lost and alone sitting on the chair at the end of the beds.

"So, what did you do?" Alex asked.

"I helped him," Lena said, "Resigned myself to my reality. Lex would give me projects to keep me occupied. He knew I was clever and curious and needed to be kept out of 'trouble' if you will. In '38 he got a contract with the British Government to do with submarines and then another for naval ships, and then a huge one for upgrading and repairing the dockyards needed to build them. He was back-and-forth to London during this time, and would often take me with him, partly not trusting me to be left at home, and probably hoping that some eligible suitor would come along. In March '39 my step-mother, Lex's mother, died after a short illness. Lex was devastated, and threw himself into his work even more."

"But why did he defect?" Kara asked.

"I don't know," Lena said, chewing on the inside of her lip. "It was almost exactly twelve months ago. I knew he was going London, but I'd been a bit unwell, so was staying behind. That wasn't unusual. But when I woke up in the morning, all his things were gone. Everything. Every last paper, every notebook, every file, _every_thing. I didn't know what to do or who to contact. I didn't have anyone besides Lex. A couple of days later, there were photos of Lex side-by-side with Herr Hitler all over the papers. He'd stolen documents from the British Government. British and Irish officials questioned me, but I knew nothing."

"Lena, I am so sorry," Kara said.

Lena shook her head, hot angry tears welling in her eyes. "So now I'm trapped here. I'm not allowed to leave Ireland. I moved from the family house down to Luthorsport to at least be near anyone, even though Lex always called the townsfolk 'vulgar' and 'common'. Maybe they are, but I couldn't bear being in that big, draughty hall all by myself. People in Galway want nothing to do with me, much less society in Dublin. I can't go anywhere, I can't even go to Belfast - "

"Do you want to go to Belfast?" Kara asked gently.

"No one wants to go to Belfast, Kara, that's the whole point!" Lena snapped. "Half the population of Belfast don't even want to be there. I can't go anywhere. Nowhere wants me." Lena stood up suddenly, causing Caoimhe to scramble to her feet. "I don't know why I care. It's been like this my whole life."

"Lena, we - "

"I don't - you don't understand," Lena said, turning away to wipe her eyes. She grabbed her hat and coat. "I don't know why I told you all this. It's - I don't matter. None of it matters. Just forget it. I - " Lena shook her head and opened the door, closing it behind her with a bang.

Alex and Kara sat in silence for a minute, listening as Lena stomped down the stairs and slammed the front door shut.

"Go after her," Alex said.

"Alex, I - "

"Lex's 'Mr Kent' is Clark, isn't he?"

Kara bit her lip. "I think so."

"It would explain how Lex knew about kryptonite. Do you think he knows about Clark? Could that be why he put kryptonite in the lighthouse?"

"If that's what it is, but I don't know," Kara mumbled, her shoulders drooped. "Lena's not like that."

"I know," Alex said, standing up and taking Kara's hands. "I believe her. I believe that she is so lonely and she is desperate and for whatever reasons, she had chosen us to confide in. Go after her, Kara. She needs to know about us. And she needs to know she is not alone anymore."

…

"Lena! Lena, wait!" Kara called, running across the wet cobblestoned street to catch up to her friend. There wasn't a breath of wind, but the misty rain had set in. "Please, please wait."

Lena slowed her pace, and Caoimhe bounded down to Kara.

"Hullo there, good girl," Kara said, giving the wet dog a quick pat on the head.

"You should go back to the hotel. It's too wet to be out," Lena said, continuing to walk on as Kara fell into step beside her. Lena allowed Kara share her umbrella.

"I need to tell you something," Kara said.

Lena shook her head. She felt exhausted, drained. "I doubt there's anything that important."

"Please," Kara said. "Alex and I were going to tell you this afternoon. We weren't expecting - "

"My story?"

Kara nodded.

Lena stopped in front of a sturdy, two-story stone house, and fumbled with her keys. She felt too tired to argue with Kara, and some part of her wanted Kara to stay. "Don't worry about your boots," she said, opening the door. "You can hang up your hat and coat. Caoimhe, go to Aine. Go on," Lena said, pointing down the hall. Kara heard someone else whistle, and Caoimhe bounded towards the sound.

"My cook," Lena said, removing her hat and coat, "Though she doubles as my housekeeper. She'd have to be the best housekeeper this side of Dublin."

"Isn't Dublin pretty much the most easterly point of Ireland?" Kara asked.

Lena chuckled.

"Oh," Kara smiled, "Right."

Lena walked into her study and turned on the lights. Even though it was only half-two, the low clouds had blocked out a lot of the light that mid-January offered. "Take a seat," she said to Kara, gesturing to the couch.

Kara sat down and looked around the impeccably decorated room. The exterior of the house betrayed nothing of it's interior. It was one of the most fashionable rooms Kara had ever seen, yet retained its own character and was clearly personalised for Lena. "This is a very nice room," Kara said, taking in the large mirror above the fireplace, the big desk, tall bookcases, and various artworks and decorations.

"Thank-you," Lena replied, busying herself by putting a log on the fire, then pouring them both a glass of whisky. She sat down beside Kara and handed her a glass. "So…?"

Kara took a sip and swallowed. It was like drinking pure warmth. She wished she could just sit in here and talk about everything and nothing, the way she and Lena did on their walks. But she had to tell her the truth. "I am Supergirl."

"Oh," Lena said, sipping her drink. "Is that a real thing?"

"What?"

"It's not a publicity stunt? Like Captain Britain?"

"What? No, of course not. I - I am Supergirl."

"I don't really know what that means," Lena said, looking at Kara. The golden light from the fireplace and lamps contrasted with the blue of Kara's eyes.

"Oh," Kara said, noticing that Lena's legs were very close to her. Though Supergirl was revered in London, Kara realised that her fame may not have spread very far outside the capital. "Do you - you have heard of Supergirl?"

"I've seen her mentioned in the papers a couple of times. There was a blurry, grainy photo once, but most folk around here think its just propaganda. Something to give people hope."

"Oh, Supergirl brings lots of people hope," Kara smiled.

"I'm sure she does," Lena said, still sceptical.

Kara bit her lip. This was not going the way she expected. "I - I have powers. Unusual powers. I can fly. I think you saw me. Flying."

"Back into the waves…" Lena said, her eyes widening.

Kara nodded, grateful that Lena was beginning to understand. "I also have super-strength - "

"Like how you can carry Alex as though she was a baby?"

"Oh, I can lift a lot more than just Alex," Kara smiled. "There's a few other things too, but - ah, I'm not like everyone else."

"I'd ask if invincibility is one of those things, but you were ill when you arrived here, and you weren't well yesterday either…"

"I generally am pretty close to invincible," Kara confessed, "Unless there's kryptonite around."

"Should I know what that is?" Lena asked.

Kara looked at her glass and swirled the remainder of her drink. "It's a substance not from this earth. I - this might sound like I'm deviating, but you mentioned that Lex had a friend in America, a Mr Kent?"

"Yes," Lena said.

Kara took a breath. "You wouldn't happen to know his first name?"

"I never met him," Lena said, "And Lex almost always just referred to him as Mr Kent, but I think it was something American like Grant or Clint or - "

"Clark?" Kara asked.

"Clark Kent. That's it. Do you - do you know him?"

Kara nodded. "He's my cousin."

"You didn't say you knew Lex."

"I don't," Kara said, "Clark's a older than me, similar to you and Lex. When we're together, we get along like a house on fire, but 20-something year old men don't send letters about their buddies and general exploits to their teenage cousins. But," Kara sighed, "Clark is like me. I - I'm not from here. This earth. And neither is he. I was adopted by the Danverses, and Clark by the Kents, and - "

"You think Lex knows about your cousin? And possibly you?" Lena asked.

Kara nodded. "It's partly why we left London. Reasonably good intel was received that the Nazis had developed an incendiary-style kryptonite weapon to drop on London. If the people of London saw Supergirl drop out of the sky, well…"

"It would like destroying St Paul's, tearing down a symbol of hope."

"Exactly," Kara said. "So it was recommended that we lie low for a little while, until this threat was either confirmed or could be discounted. Not to mention that Alex and I were both desperate for a break. We were granted leave, and were flying up to the Isle of Islay, but the storm pushed us off course, then our plane was damaged, so we bailed out. I was holding Alex. We saw the lighthouse, and I knew there'd be a town nearby, we could get ourselves sorted out, then go back to London. Only - "

"You think there's kryptonite in the lighthouse," Lena said.

Kara shrugged. "It would make sense."

Lena finished her drink and put the glass down. "Luthorsport is much further west than Islay."

"Oh, we knew we were well off course," Kara confessed.

"But why leave in the middle of a storm?"

Kara shrugged. "Protection? Harder to be shot down by the enemy or accidental friendly fire with clouds like that. No one can hear or see you. And we had other intel regarding the Blitz, and it was decided that Supergirl wouldn't be needed quite as much as she had been in December."

Everything Kara said sounded mad, yet Lena found herself believing every word. "You didn't want me to call a doctor when you arrived because you didn't know how to explain yourselves?"

"Exactly," Kara said.

"But Supergirl, London's beacon of hope, is an American?"

Kara chuckled. "Apparently they're developing a radio show of Supergirl's Grand Adventures or something like that, but I have been told that I will not be voicing myself."

Lena gave a small smile. "Well I think you have a lovely voice, but I am not surprised," she said. "Another drink?"

"Oh, I'm not finished this one," Kara said, realising she still had a mouthful left in her glass. She gulped it back and looked at Lena. "Thank-you."

"For the drink?"

"For sharing your story with us."

"I - it's not…" Lena gave a small shrug, and noticed that her knee was touch Kara's, but neither of them moved. "Maybe it's easier telling you because I know you're going to leave and then that will be that."

"We're not leaving yet," Kara said. "And I've kind of taken a liking to this place."

"There's not really that much to like," Lena said.

"Oh, I think there is," Kara said.

Lena sighed, her shoulders drooping. "It's all Lex's fault. You ending up here, Alex being sick and injured…"

"Don't do this," Kara said. "Every time you say something is Lex's fault, I can see you blaming yourself. And yes, it is _his_ fault, but it is not yours, Lena," Kara put her empty glass on the floor and took Lena's hands. "You have been nothing but kind and hospitable and trusting of Alex and I. You are not to blame for any of this."

Lena squeezed Kara's hands, tears welling in her eyes. "You still have to leave."

Kara nodded. "But not now. Not today. And you're not alone anymore, Lena. Please believe me that you are not alone."


	7. Chapter 7

Lena and Alex didn't speak much on the walk to the lighthouse, both wrapped up in their own thoughts, and Alex needed all the breath she could just to keep walking. The wind was up, pushing the clouds quickly across the sky, allowing them irregular but welcome patches of sunshine. Everyday for the past couple of days Alex had been going for a short walk with Kara to try and increase her stamina, but the walk to the lighthouse was by far the greatest distance. Alex dragged herself up the last few steps to the top of the lighthouse, clinging to the rail for support. Her legs were wobbly and she was dripping with sweat, but she had to do this.

"Are you - you don't look great," Lena said, turning to Alex. She'd left Caoimhe with Kara back at the hotel as a sort of consolation, knowing that they'd keep each other company. Kara was more than happy to go for a ramble through the town with Caoimhe at her heels, though it had felt peculiar for Lena not to have Caoimhe sniffing and galloping along the beach beside her. Kara had half-heartedly suggested she go with Lena and Alex, but that idea was quickly shut down.

"Yeah, I - I'm…" Alex fought to catch her breath. She pulled off her gloves and wiped her forehead. "Think I'm going to need a sleep this afternoon."

Lena nodded. Alex hadn't looked so unwell for a week or more, and it made Lena nervous. "Right, well, here we are. I guess you know what we're looking for."

Alex made her way to the light and inspected it, but wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. "You know more about electronics than me," she said to Lena. "Kryptonite is green, but it's possible it's encased in something. I've only ever seen it in solid form, but in theory it could be a liquid, so…"

"So find what looks unnecessary," Lena said, kneeling down to get a better look under the beacon.

Alex slumped against the wall of the lighthouse.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Lena asked.

Alex went to nod, but then shook her head. "Just give me a minute," she said, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her. "I just - I'll come good."

"You're not like Kara and allergic to this stuff too?"

"No," Alex said. "I'm just regular-unwell."

"This could have waited."

"No. It needs to be done. For Kara." Kara had spent hours at Lena's house on Tuesday afternoon, and a couple more hours happily debriefing with Alex everything Lena had told her about Lex and his time in America and their speculations about his knowledge of kryptonite, as well as Kara's amusement that Lena had thought that Supergirl was a propaganda stunt. Alex knew that Kara had kept some of Lena's secrets to herself, and accepted and respected that.

Lena pulled a screwdriver out of her pocket and lay down under the beacon. "You and Kara go to quite some lengths for one another," she said, carefully dismantling it, placing the pieces aside in order so that she could reassemble it without too much difficulty. These things were always easier to take apart than put back together.

"She's my sister," Alex said.

"In a lot of families that doesn't necessarily mean much."

"I know. But it does to us."

Lena was glad she had something to do with her hands and somewhere to look other than at Alex. She pulled out some cabling and detached a couple of wires. "Well, you're very lucky."

"I know," Alex said, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "Kara means a lot. Supergirl might help fight to protect London and its people, and she might have pulled me out of the ocean, but it's Kara Danvers who's saved me."

Lena bit her lip. She would never understand what it was like to have someone like that in her life. A family member who was there, no matter what. But perhaps now she had half a chance. Alex seemed to fit the bill for a favourite cousin, but what she wanted from Kara was more.

"This is - unusual," Lena said, carefully disconnecting a metal box several inches cubed with wires coming out of it from inside the light. She slid out from underneath the beacon and sat up. "Could this be it?"

Alex shuffled over to take a closer look. "Can you open it?"

Lena pulled a smaller screwdriver out of her pocket and began to take the box apart.

"How many of those did you bring?" Alex asked.

"Enough," Lena replied, busying herself. "I'd rather bring my own tools than need to rely on the lighthouse-keeper's." A minute later she had the box open, and inside was a glowing green stone with wires connected. "Is this…?"

Alex nodded, her stomach tightening. This much raw kryptonite could kill Kara. No wonder it had made her so ill. "That's it."

Lena reassembled the box, then handed it to Alex. "What happens to it now?"

"I'll send it back to our people in London. They'll be able to safely dispose of it."

Lena felt an ugly thought rising inside her. What if the sisters were really spies? What if they were using her, and this had all been some ruse to gain her trust? What if they were sending the Kryptonite to Lex? Or if they were spies for the American government and were going to send it back over there for them to use as weapons? Lena would not let herself be a part of any destruction. Lex was causing more than enough of that for one family.

"And you're sure it will be safe?" Lena said, looking at the pieces of the beacon laid out before her. Would it shine as bright without the Kryptonite? How had Lex known that the substance would work with the light? What other properties did it have that he knew about?

"Certain," Alex said, wrapping the box in layers of brown paper, then placing it in the string bag she had brought along. "Once we go back to London, I can try to clear your name. Get you a British passport or visa or whatever you need. Kara is right about you. I think you're capable of wonderful things, Lena."

Lena pretended not to hear, and busied herself with reassembling the beacon. Would the light be dimmer? Would the townsfolk notice? Would they report it to her if they did? She realised that the kryptonite was not powering the light in any way, that was all done thanks to Lex's clever engineering, but the light had been used to amplify the Kryptonite. She explained her theory to Alex. "So perhaps in the storm, with all the lightning and extra water molecules, increased the range of the Kryptonite."

"Only one way to test that theory," Alex said, "And I'd really rather not."

Lena sat up and smiled. "It's nice to have someone to talk to who understands what it is I'm actually talking about."

"To be honest, I only understood about half of that, but it definitely sounded like a solid theory," Alex said, still feeling too light-headed for scientific discussions that she would generally take a strong interest in. She looked out the panoramic windows at the view across the Atlantic ocean. "Time for the long hike home?" she asked, turning to look back towards Luthorsport.

"It's not that far," Lena said, pocketing her screwdrivers.

"It's going to feel like it for me."

Alex ended up holding onto Lena's arms for support for most of the walk back to town. They went straight to the post office for Alex to send the Kryptonite away before returning to the hotel. Caoimhe leapt up on Lena, overjoyed to see her mistress, and Kara wrapped her arms around Alex who was pale and sweaty.

"You look terrible," Kara said.

"I feel it," Alex confessed, leaning into Kara.

"But you got it?"

"We got it, and it's now on it's way to H."

"Thank-you," Kara said. "Want me to carry you upstairs?"

Alex nodded, feeling completely drained.

"I'll leave you be," Lena said. "And I won't bother you this afternoon, I - "

"No, please," Kara said, looking over Alex's shoulder to Lena. "Bring the cards," she smiled.

"But, Alex is…"

"I'm not dead," Alex mumbled. "Come back for Kara, even if I'm asleep."

"Please. I insist," Kara said.

Lena smiled, a warm feeling growing in her stomach. "Well I guess I'll be back in a couple of hours then."

"Perfect," Kara grinned, and scooped up the exhausted Alex to carry her upstairs. Kara looked back at Lena. "I'll see you later on, then."

Lena nodded. "See you soon," she said, feeling light enough to skip home.


	8. Chapter 8

"I don't think I've ever seen so many sheep in my life," Alex said as they stepped back onto the street. Though Alex had relapsed for a couple of days after she and Lena walked to the lighthouse, for the past week and a half she had been well on the mend, going for a walk of gradually-increasing length everyday with Kara and Lena. Today, since the weather was reasonable, Lena had taken the sisters for a long walk through the winding roads between the paddocks behind Luthorsport, showing them a couple of good vantage points with spectacular views of the rolling hills inland, or of the dramatic coastline and seemingly endless Atlantic Ocean.

"It was only one herd of sheep," Lena said, Caoimhe trotting along beside her.

"It was a lot of sheep," Kara said, backing up Alex.

Lena chuckled. "If you think that was a lot of sheep, you have clearly never been to an agricultural show."

"No! Can we go to one?" Kara asked with enthusiasm. Lena might find Luthorsport small and provincial and the people 'common', but the charms of the town and it's rugged surroundings had certainly rubbed off on Kara.

"Well, the one in Galway isn't until the summer," Lena said. "Plus there's the Galway County Show, which is about equestrian and horses, rather than sheep, but I think you'd like that too."

"I would love that! Why don't we have this in America?" Kara asked.

"I think we do," Alex said, as they reached the hotel. "You've just never shone any interest until now. Gosh, I've gotten unfit."

"You've been unwell, and that was a huge walk. Even I want a sit-down," Kara said.

"Oh, come on, Kara," Lena said, "You could do that again, no worries."

"Well, Caoimhe needs a sit-down, don't you Caoimhe?" Kara said, patting the dog, "You liked chasing the sheep. You're a good girl. Yes, you are."

"Kara, don't encourage her," Lena said. "And please don't say 'good girl' and 'chasing sheep' in the same breath because the dog chooses to connect the two, and I do not need the farmers up in arms because my dog is much too entertained by their livestock."

"Next thing she's going to be wanting a puppy of her own," Alex chuckled, shaking her head as they walked inside. She pulled off her gloves. "It is good to get the blood moving, but I definitely need to put my feet up after that."

"I'm very glad you've recovered," Lena said. "When I first saw you, I genuinely thought you were dead."

"You weren't the only one. Kara! Grab the dog and come inside."

Kara was playing with Caoimhe in the street, her and the dog feeding off one another's boundless energy and enthusiasm. Lena whistled and Caoimhe bounded inside and barked.

"No barking inside," Lena said, closing the door behind Kara. Caoimhe trotted into the dining room, where a lone figure sat at a table, an almost-empty glass in front of her.

"Well, well, well, look what the tide washed in," she said, looking up from the glass.

"Sara!" Kara cried, and leapt into the dimly-lit room, flinging her arms around Captain Sara Lance. "When did you get here? Why are you here? What - what are you doing here? This is so exciting! I am so happy to see you. Is anyone else here? Is Kate here?"

"Kara, slow down," Alex said. "Hullo, Sara."

"Alex," Sara gave a nod as she disentangled herself from Kara's embrace.

Alex made introductions, and Sara informed them that she'd already spoken to Mary, who had set up the bedroom opposite Lena and Kara's for her, had taken up her suitcase and found her something to drink.

"I'm afraid this visit isn't as social as I'd like it to be," Sara said, after they'd all pulled up a chair, and Lena had grabbed the bottle of Irish whisky Mary had opened for Sara and poured everyone a glass.

"You were sent here," Alex said, bristling.

Sara sighed. "If you're not back at the office on Monday morning, you'll be court marshalled for desertion."

"What! No, no, H said - "

"H has bought you three weeks so far, Kara," Sara said. "I'm sorry. I - I'm the delivery service. Either you come back with me, or well…" she shrugged.

"This isn't fair," Alex said, feeling angry and betrayed and foolish. She'd convinced herself that they were allowed to stay in Luthorsport as long as they wished, though of course that couldn't be the case. "H hasn't written to us. We've have no warning, and we're volunteers. We're not even British."

"Doesn't mean you can just disappear," Sara said.

"We haven't disappeared," Alex snapped. "H knows where we are."

"Alex, I - "

"I - no. I'm not doing this right now," Alex said, standing up and marching out of the room.

"I'll go," Kara said, pushing back her chair. "It's just - she…"

"Let me," Sara said. Kara sat back down while Sara knocked back the rest of her drink before following Alex upstairs. Their bedroom door was ajar.

"I get it," Sara said, pushing the door open to Kara and Alex's room.

Alex was standing at the window looking out at the sea, her arms folded defensively across her chest. Her coat was draped across the end of her bed, and looking around the room, Sara found it particularly homey.

"You can't 'get it'," Alex grumbled. "If anything happens to Kara…"

"Kara will be all right," Sara said, slowly approaching Alex. "She always is."

Alex shook her head. "That night, after the firestorm, you - you didn't see her then. She was wrecked. It's killing her, and if - if…"

"This Miss Luthor of yours," Sara said, changing the subject, "Is she any relation to - "

"His sister. Half-sister or whatever, but still…"

Sara nodded and stood beside Alex.

"But she is good, Sara," Alex said softly.

"What does she know?"

"About Kara and I?"

"Yes."

"Pretty much everything."

Sara sighed. "And her brother?"

"I think she has an address for him. Otherwise, nothing."

"Nothing about Kryptonite being used in weapons?"

Alex shook her head. "As far as Lena knows, Lex doesn't know that Kara Danvers has superpowers, doesn't know the connection between her and Supergirl, and possibly hasn't made the connection between Supergirl and what exactly she is. I guess we're hoping that the intel the other week was wrong."

Sara reached out and took Alex's hand. She lifted it up and looked at the pink scars, tracing her finger along them. "What happened? Really?"

Alex wanted to give Sara the abridged version of events, but as she started talking, more and more details found their way in. "So you see why I have to protect her," Alex finished, tears prickling her eyes, "She is vulnerable. And around Christmas, every night, knowing Kara was out there, and she would come home utterly exhausted, and I know that she's strong, but that doesn't mean she can't be hurt or killed or - I can't lose her, Sara."

"I understand. Really," Sara said. She bit her lip and let go of Alex's hand. "Laurel's dead."

Alex felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach. She should have known something was wrong. Sara looked like she hadn't slept for days, she'd been drinking before midday, and of all the people in the world, for Sara to have been the one sent to Luthorsport…

"I'm so sorry," Alex breathed. "I didn't know."

"How could you?" Sara asked, her voice cracking. "You've been over here, on your little holiday."

"Sara, I've been sick, I - I nearly drowned, I - " Alex didn't know what to do, but making excuses wasn't helping. "What - how did…?"

Sara sat down on Alex's bed and stared out the window. "About ten days ago. I didn't know. I wasn't there. I should have been there, but - but I…"

Alex sat down beside Sara. "What happened?"

Sara's shoulders slumped. Alex had never seen her look so small. "She was working a case. They were up in Manchester. Something went wrong and one of the crooks stabbed her and they… she taken to hospital and I didn't know. I didn't know what had happened, Alex. I could have made it, I could have caught the train and been there, but I wasn't. She came for me. But I wasn't there and my sister died and I wasn't there to hold her and tell her I love her and now she's gone and it's so stupid and…"

Sara broke down. Alex cradled her and rubbed her back, forcing back tears of her own. She had briefly met Laurel Lance a couple of times, and had heard a lot about her, and knew exactly how much she meant to Sara. There was nothing she could say. Nothing would help, or make things better. Laurel was gone, and Sara would have to learn to go on without her. Alex just held onto Sara, hoping she could be enough, and silently praying that their positions would never be reversed.

"I keep waiting for a letter," Sara mumbled, clinging to Alex. "Demanding to know why I haven't written to her. Asking if I'd got other letters. Wondering if they'd been lost in the post. Telling me to eat something and drink something other than alcohol and take care of myself. But the letter isn't coming. No more are coming. She would have known she was dying, and I - I didn't. I didn't know she was gone. I - I know what it feels like, to think you're going to die. To think that, and be so alone, and - Laurel would have know. She would have. But I wasn't there. I wasn't there…"

…

Lena and Kara finished their drinks, then Kara suggested a short walk to give Alex and Sara some time. They wandered along the beach to towards the pier, Caoimhe jumping at the waves.

"If you don't mind me asking," Lena said, "Who exactly is this Captain Sara Lance?"

"Her job is classified, sorry," Kara said, "But she was one of the first people we met in London."

"You never mentioned that she was a woman."

"Didn't I? It didn't seem important," Kara knew full well that the few times she'd mentioned Sara to Lena, she'd been very careful just to refer to her as Captain Lance.

"She's a Captain. There's not many female captains."

"True," Kara said, feeling called-out. "But I - I guess I was protecting her. And Alex."

"Alex?" Lena asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I - it's a bit of story," Kara said, able to look at Lena.

"You don't have to tell," Lena said, and gave Kara a smile.

"No, it's all right," Kara said, taking Lena's arm. She felt guilty, both for keeping things from Lena, but also that she may be betraying Alex's confidences. "A few weeks after we arrived, I pulled Sara out from underneath a building. That attack was early, we were caught off-guard and it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for Sara. When I found her, I thought she was dead, and I was so afraid to lose one of the few people over here we had come to know quite well. But it turns out Sara Lance is pretty hard to kill, and a month later, multiple lacerations to her arms and torso, and broken ribs and wrist be damned, she was back at work."

"So she's like you and Alex," Lena said, "Stupidly brave."

"Ha," Kara said. "More stupidly reckless, though Alex would probably say the same about me. Sara fights hard, she has fought hard to get where she is. Like you said, there's not many female captains. She doesn't care what people think, she doesn't suffer fools, but she's fiercely loyal and protective of her people."

"Sounds familiar," Lena said, glancing at Kara. "But what does this have to do with Alex?"

"Well," Kara said, "In the middle of December we were all at a friend's wedding. I'm sure I told you about Lieutenant Allen? It was his wedding. And, well, Alex and Sara got rather drunk together, and…"

Kara suddenly realised that Lena might not be _au fait_ with what happened. Or she might not understand what Kara was implying. Such acts were illegal for men, but only frowned upon or dismissed as not actually real for women. People in Britain generally turned a blind eye to women doing such things so long as they were perfectly discreet about it. But Kara wasn't sure what the laws or attitudes towards such behaviour was in Ireland, let alone Lena's personal feelings on the subject.

Lena looked out to sea. "Have you ever been - drunk at a wedding?" she asked.

"Oh, it is pretty hard to get me drunk," Kara said. "I hold my liquor very well, I can - " She stopped, not sure of the meaning of Lena's question. "I, ah - not like how Alex and Sara got drunk. No." Did Lena understand what she was saying? Kara felt uncomfortable. She didn't have the words to easily describe Alex and Sara, and didn't understand her own feelings.

"Oh," Lena said in reply. "Should we head back?" They'd reached the pier.

"Yes, I think so," Kara replied. They turned around, and Lena whistled for Caoimhe to follow. "But I - don't think I'd be opposed to getting drunk at a wedding."

Lena chuckled. "Kara Danvers, I am very glad that of all the villages to wash up in, you happened to wash up here."

"Only because your evil brother had a system in place that made me fall out of the sky!" Kara teased. Lena laughed and the tension that had been there moments ago broke. Kara gushed about the merits and assorted adventures of Sara Lance as they walked back to the hotel.

"Now I am famished," Kara said, pushing the door open. "I wonder what Mary will have made for lunch. I bet Sara will enjoy some non-rationed meals."

"I still can't believe that tea will be rationed here," Lena said, ushering Caoimhe inside and closing the door. "This country just about runs on tea."

"Well, in England - Oh. Hullo, Alex."

Alex sat at the bottom of the stairs, her arms wrapped around herself. "Laurel Lance is dead," she said.

Kara gasped. "Oh, no. Poor Sara. I - is she - "

"She cried herself to sleep on my bed. I doubt she's slept for days and I don't think she's let herself feel her loss until now, either. But she's right Kara. We have to go back. I'm sorry, but we have to go."


	9. Chapter 9

Though the wind was howling and a storm was building out to sea, Lena and Kara went for one last walk along the beach. They had passed the lighthouse, continuing across the rocks and around the bend to a long, white, sandy beach on the other side. Lena explained that the village was where it was an not here due to treacherous rocks hidden beneath the waves.

Lena had said it was best for Kara, Alex and Sara to leave Luthorsport on the Friday morning train, reaching Dublin around lunchtime which would allow them to catch the afternoon ferry to Wales if it was running, or giving them time in case it was cancelled due to bad weather or war issues, and still give them a day to navigate the trains back to London. Kara, Alex and Sara had seen the reason in this, though Kara secretly wished to stay until Sunday afternoon and fly back at the last possible moment.

In the morning, Kara, Alex, Lena and Sara had gone for one last walk to the shops for some last-minute supplies and a final walk out along the pier. After lunch, and seeing that the weather had worsened, Alex and Sara had opted to stay back at the hotel, while Kara and Lena rugged up and ventured out, the ever-faithful Caoimhe going along with her mistress and new best friend.

The wind whipped their faces, and threatened to blow them over. They talked and laughed as though this was completely normal and nothing was going to change. Kara wished they could walk on forever. Out here, on this damp and windy island on the edge of Europe, all of her worries had blown away. She only had to look after those who were right here, a task that was easy enough. Alex was quite recovered and very much herself again, more so than she had been for months, and Kara realised that though they shared a flat in London, she had been missing 'her' Alex. Sara had allowed herself to grieve for Laurel, and let the Danvers sisters take care of her for a couple of days. And Lena was always there, shadowed by Caoimhe, supplying them with books and games and food and drinks and anything and everything they could possibly need. Not to mention her company and friendship, which Kara in particular had come to cherish and depend upon.

"If we go any further, we won't get back until well after dark," Lena said, coming to a stop.

"I can alway fly us back," Kara suggested with a grin.

Lena looked apprehensive. "How about we start walking, but if it gets too dark or starts to rain, I might let you do that. But you'd have to carry Caoimhe as well."

"You'd hold Caoimhe, and I'd hold you," Kara said, turning around. She tried to tuck lose strands of hair behind her ears, but within second they were flying about her face again. She had no idea how Lena's hat and hair stayed put, when hers had long since all but fallen out of her braids, and she hadn't even bothered with a hat. "It is very pretty here, though," Kara said, looking back along the beach, the lighthouse up ahead effectively marking the halfway distance between the deserted beach they now stood on and the hotel.

"If you think dark, stormy clouds, howling winds, and crashing waves are pretty, then I really wouldn't recommend coming all this way on the two and a half days of summer we get, with perfect blue skies and enticing clear, green water."

"I think it's always beautiful," Kara said.

Lena looked around, trying to see the corner of the world she knew all too well through Kara's eyes. The mist coming off the waves, the silver patches out to sea where the sun was forcing its way through the clouds, Caoimhe trotting along with her happy, wagging tail, the beach all to themselves, the lighthouse as a symbol of safety up ahead, despite the fact that it was Lex's corruption of it which had brought the Danverses here for so long in the first place. Lena looked at Kara, her cheeks flushed with cold, her hair a mess, the borrowed houndstooth coat, her red woollen scarf. This time tomorrow, Kara would be in Dublin or somewhere on a ferry. She'd be gone, and Lena would still be here. Lena swallowed and forced the thought aside. Right now, Kara was here on the beach in Luthorsport. Right now, they still had a long walk ahead of them, and later a feast to look forward to. Lena wished the beach was longer, the town further away, the night and the storm not racing them back to the hotel.

"It would be nice to stop the world," Kara said. "Just - just for this afternoon. Let the afternoon go on forever."

"You read my mind," Lena said.

Kara took Lena by the arm. "I don't want you to blow away."

"Shouldn't I be the one afraid of that?" Lena asked, "Since you blew in in the first place?"

Kara chuckled. "We will come back," she said. "I'll come back. I promise."

"I'm not worth it," Lena mumbled, the words coming out of her mouth before she could stop them..

"Don't you say that," Kara said. "Don't you dare. You are worth so much, Lena."

"You sound like my accountant."

"I don't mean like that," Kara said. "I mean - you're a good person, Lena. I will tell you that a hundred times, a million times if that what it takes for you to believe it too."

"But you still have to leave," Lena said, blinking back tears.

"I don't want to," Kara confessed, hanging onto Lena's arm. "But I will come back. You have my word."

…

Alex had planned to spend the afternoon packing their things and tidying up the room, but once she started, she realised that there wasn't actually much there to pack. She laid out the clothes she and Kara would wear to dinner at Lena's house, and what they'd wear tomorrow to travel in, which left very little to pack. So, she finished one of the books Lena had leant her, and put it with the clothes she'd change into later to remind her to return it.

Alex had considered going with Lena and Kara, but there was something else she wanted to do. She didn't want to leave Luthorsport any more than Kara did. They were safe here, life was comfortable and easy with her sister and friends new and old, and quite decent food. The more Alex thought about it, she realised that she'd needed this to remind her exactly what they were fighting for. Alex caught her reflection in the small mirror. She looked well. There was colour in her cheeks, her hair was soft and shiny, her eyes bright. She looked down at her hands, the scars still evident, as they were on her legs. Reminders that both she and Kara were vulnerable.

Enough procrastination. Alex quickly brushed her hair, threw the hairbrush onto the bed, and crossed the hallway to Sara's room. She knocked on the door. "Just me."

"There's not really anyone else it could be," Sara said.

Alex took that as an invitation to enter, her stomach tightening a little.

Sara was standing at the window looking out to sea, her arms folded across her chest.

"Are you all right?" Alex asked.

"I'm fine," Sara said, but her voice cracked.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked gently, her eyes falling on the bottle of whisky on the bedside table.

Sara turned around and saw where Alex was looking. "I haven't had any this afternoon."

"I wouldn't blame you if you had," Alex said, noticing that Sara's eyes were red and puffy.

Sara sighed. "I thought you could only cry over someone so much. Turns out I was wrong."

Alex closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry. But she was your sister, so…"

"I really hate that past tense."

"Sorry," Alex said, wishing she was better at comforting Sara. Kara always seemed to know what to say, and had been excellent at consoling her.

A look passed over Sara's face and she wiped her eyes. "I only have one glass," she said, picking up the bottle.

"We're going out for dinner."

"Ah huh," Sara said, opening the bottle and pouring a glass. She downed in all at once, then topped it up and handed it to Alex. "I get why you want to stay."

Alex took the glass and sipped at the drink, the warmth from the alcohol heating her insides. "We have to go though."

Sara stood awfully close to Alex. "Are we making a habit of this?" she asked.

"Twice isn't a habit," Alex said, finishing the drink, hoping for more courage. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and wondered if Sara could hear it too.

"It's starting to look like a habit," Sara said with a wry smile.

"It's not - I - "

Sara leant in and kissed Alex on the neck, placing her hand on Alex's back.

"…Not sure of the law here…" Alex breathed, leaning into Sara's hands.

"Well," Sara said between planting kisses on Alex's neck, "They weren't handing out pamphlets at immigration, so I'm going to guess it's the same as it is the other side of the ditch."

"I don't think that's how law works."

"You're talking to the wrong person if you think I care," Sara said.

Alex placed the glass on the bedside table. Sara grabbed the bottle and took a swig, while getting her other hand up the inside of Alex's blouse.

"We're going out for dinner," Alex said, protesting weakly, though being this way with Sara was exactly what she wanted. Alex just wished she knew how Sara did what she did with her hands.

Sara put the bottle down and looked at Alex. "I am very glad you're not dead."

"You don't need me for…this," Alex said awkwardly. Sara had a notorious reputation, and was rumoured to have intimate knowledge of at least two members of royalty, a fair percentage of commissioned officers, the same of those with real influence in Whitehall, a good deal of high society, plus a generous amount of movers and shakers in the lower classes, and wasn't concerned about the gender of her lovers. Alex knew that a lot of this was hyperbole and gross exaggeration, but there was also an element of truth to it.

"I'm not going to hide what I want," Sara said, pressing herself closer to Alex. "Not when I don't have to."

"You never hide what I want. Not when it's - this."

"I have to be somewhat subtle. That's hiding enough for me."

"You could be normal," Alex mumbled, as Sara guided them onto the bed. "Married, all that."

"I'm not normal," Sara breathed, her lips tracing Alex's jawbone.

"You can pretend."

Sara scoffed. "It would be just that though. Pretence."

"I can't," Alex confessed, as Sara unbuttoned her blouse with one hand while running the other up Alex's leg. "I can't pretend. I - "

"I know," Sara said. "But right now isn't a great time for this discussion."

"There never is time."

"Exactly." Sara lowered herself onto Alex and kissed her on the lips.

Alex kissed Sara back. She was desperate and Sara was here and more than consenting. They could never make anything work in the long term, but for now they were quite enough.

Sara unbuttoned her dress, then rolled down Alex's stockings and looked at the scars on her legs.

"It's not pretty," Alex said, helping Sara out of the sleeves of her dress.

Sara pulled her dress off over her head, revealing the scars on her arms. Alex stared at her lacy undergarments. "Don't let anyone tell you that. You're beautiful."

Alex sat up and wrapped her arms around Sara, pressing their lips together. She felt a shiver run through her body, and pressed herself as close to Sara as she could. If they had to go back, if they had to face the war and the real world again, Alex was at least going to make this afternoon last.

…

Lena had invited Kara, Alex and Sara to have their final dinner in Luthorsport at her house. Though they didn't have proper evening wear, they all bathed and made themselves as presentable as possible. Lena was happy to have any excuse to put on something a little bit nicer than she usually wore around town, including diamond earring and a bit of make-up. She also saw to it that the good crockery and silverware was brought out for the occasion.

Kara, Alex and Sara were quite wind-blown after the walk from the hotel up to Lena's house, and were grateful for the warm fire and warming drinks Lena served upon their arrival, and a cheerful jazz record playing on the gramophone set the mood. The soup course of chicken soup with dumplings was soon served, followed by roast lamb with all the trimmings, and plenty of alcohol to wash everything down. Hot apple cake, generously spiced with cinnamon and vanilla was served for dessert, along with lashings of cream. The meal concluded with coffee and chocolates, then Lena brought the Irish whisky out, and they continued drinking and laughing and telling stories, no one wanting the evening to end.

It was after eleven o'clock when Alex finally made the call that they should head back to the hotel. It was to be an early start, and she and Kara had quite gotten used to lazy mornings. The candles on the table candelabras were burning low, as was the fire. Caoimhe was asleep under the table, and Aine had retired some hours ago, having quietly told Lena she'd clean up in the morning.

Alex and Sara fiddled with their outwear and giggled like schoolgirls in the hallway, Sara stealing kisses when she thought no one was watching, and Kara lingered in the dining room with Lena.

"Thank-you," she said.

"You're quite welcome," Lena smiled, feeling warm from all the good company, food and drink. "I've rarely played hostess, but if this is what all dinners are like, then I must say I quite enjoy the role."

Kara smiled in return. "I am so full, and Aine is an amazing cook. Please tell her I said that. But I - I don't just mean for tonight."

"I know," Lena said.

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena. "Thank-you."

"I am going to see you in the morning," Lena said, not nearly ready to say goodbye. She felt safe and secure in Kara's embrace.

"I know," Kara said, deciding to hold Lena for a moment longer, though she knew Alex and Sara were waiting. "But really, thank-you." There was so much more she wished she could say, and hoped Lena understood what she was really trying to convey when she offered her thanks.

"I'll see you in the morning," Lena smiled, though tears pricked her eyes.

Kara reluctantly let go of Lena and looked at her, promising herself she would remember exactly how Lena looked right now in the soft light, her earrings glittering, a few strands of hair coming loose. "I'll see you then," Kara said.


	10. Chapter 10

There was no real need for Lena to escort Kara, Alex and Sara to the station. Though it was after sunrise, the sky was still dark due to the dense rain clouds and the wind was bitter; they were all grateful that the station was undercover. It was all but deserted as there were no other passengers from Luthorsport, and what little seafood had been caught last night had already been loaded into the goods carriages. Mr O'Brien the stationmaster blew his whistle. It was time to go.

Lena was wrapped up against the weather and stood with Caoimhe sitting at her feet. She had had a deep, peaceful sleep, and had woken feeling snug and joyous, though that had faded all too quickly when she remembered that today her new-found friends were going home. They'd chatted on the walk to the station as though nothing was going to change. As though they were just going to the post office and general store and would be safely back inside with a packet of cards and a hot drink in no time. But that was not to be.

"Thank-you, Lena," Sara said. "I, ah - well, I guess I have a nice quiet, peaceful, summer holiday destination now. If I get a summer holiday this year, that is."

"It's been a pleasure to meet you," Lena said, shaking Sara's hand.

"Pleasure's all mine."

"I brought you this," Lena said, pulling a bottle of whisky out of her bag. "My condolences. Don't drink it all at once, but don't let it collect dust, either."

"I'll save it for a special occasion," Sara smiled, recognising the label on the bottle and knowing it would cost her a week's wages to buy a bottle like this. Lena's words were exactly what Sara could imagine Laurel saying, which brought an odd level of comfort. "Thank-you, Lena. Really. All right, Danverses, if we don't get on that train, we'll never get back."

"One moment more," Kara said, wishing she could stay with Lena. Part of her wanted to defy Sara and H and whoever it was forcing them to return to London, though her sense of duty, the reason she and Alex had volunteered and crossed the Atlantic in the first place, was stronger.

Sara nodded and boarded the train. "I'll go find us a compartment."

"You really should go," Lena said, "The train does have to leave on time and - "

Alex wrapped Lena into a hug. "You saved us. We can never thank you enough."

Lena held onto Alex. "I - it's what anyone would have done."

"Maybe," Alex said, letting go of Lena, "But it wasn't anyone. It was you. Thank-you, Lena. I'll miss this place, but we will be back and we'll be in touch before then."

Kara bobbed down to say her farewells to Caoimhe. "You'll remember me, won't you Caoimhe? Yes you will because you're a good, smart dog. You're the best girl and I'm going to miss you a lot."

Lena nodded. Her throat felt tight and she could feel tears stinging her eyes.

"Oh, come here," Kara said, flinging her around Lena. "Alex is right. She's always right and she's right about this and about you. We will come back. We'll write. You're not alone. Not anymore. We - thank-you, Lena."

"I don't have any more bottles of drink," Lena managed to say.

"Sara needs it more than we do," Alex replied.

"Bye, Lena," Kara said, forcing herself to let go of Lena as the train whistle blew and steam filled the station. She gave Lena a kiss on the cheek. "We'll see you again."

"Goodbye, Lena," Alex said, grabbing their suitcase and climbing onboard, Kara behind her. Mr O'Brien secured the door, then signalled to the driver that the train was ready to depart.

Kara pulled open the window in their compartment and leant out. "Bye Lena! We'll miss you!" she called and waved as the train departed.

Lena stood on the platform and waved until the train was out of sight, then slowly walked home with Caoimhe by her side. When she got home, Lena sent Caoimhe down to the kitchen and dragged herself upstairs, feeling empty and cold. She pulled off her outwear and boots and slipped back into bed. If she went to sleep, perhaps it would all go away. Perhaps it was all just a dream, and she would wake up, and there would be no one coming out of the waves, no desperate need for help, no Supergirl, no card games, no whisky, no dinner, no walks along the beach or over hills and farmland. No Lex deserting her, leaving her alone on the edge of the world. No war. Lena pulled the covers tightly around herself as the wind made the windowpanes shake. No need to go back out today. No need to do anything at all. No one to visit. No one to care about. Lena buried her face in her pillow and cried.

…

Kara, Alex and Sara had made the afternoon ferry from Dublin to Holyhead where they'd stayed the night in a hotel. Though it was larger and arguably more modern than the Luthorsport Hotel, it was lacking a certain charm. The ferry ride had been rough, and both Alex and Sara had been sick. The following morning they boarded the train to take them west to Chester, where they were able to change for a direct service to London.

The train from Chester rocked and rattled as it travelled south, the rolling hills and paddocks finally giving way to houses. No one said much, and paid little attention to the grey skies, and grey, smouldering city they were fast approaching. They were all tired after two days of travelling and Kara in particular was feeling lonely and heavy-hearted, not knowing how to explain to Alex or Sara why she felt that way. As the train pulled into Paddington Station, Kara pulled down their suitcases. She needed to feel useful, to have something to do, and right now, carrying the cases was all there was.

"Well, we're back," Alex said as the train came to a halt. The soldiers on the misty, steamy platform were the most obvious reminder that the war was still going on, along with the posters alternating between government-issued propaganda and air-raid safety initiatives.

Kara, Alex and Sara stepped off the train and made their way up the platform.

"Any chance the Underground is working?" Alex asked.

"Should be all right," said Sara, "Want to get dinner here? I know soggy chips isn't quite the same as anything Miss Luthor and team were serving up, but dinner options are sadly scarce."

"Kara, do you want to get some chips and coffee for dinner?" Alex called to Kara, who was walking ahead, lost in her own thoughts. "No answer means yes," Alex said to Sara, "Soggy chips and watered-down coffee it is."

Sara gave a wry smile. "Whoever thought you'd have London train station food options spoiled by a stay in Ireland?"

Kara turned back to Sara and Alex. "Do you think they'd have pies? I'd rather a pie and gravy."

"Maybe," Alex said. "Kara, watch where you're walking," she said, as Kara almost walked into a post.

Kara turned and poked her tongue out at Alex, then as she turned back towards the concourse, she recognised a figure waiting for them. "Wait, is that…" Kara put the suitcases down and grinned. "Kate! Kate is here! Alex, look! Kate is here!" Kara broke into a run and sprinted to Kate Kane, who stood waiting at the end of the platform.

Alex and Sara picked up their suitcases as Kara flung her arms around Kate, almost knocking her over.

"And I'm glad to see you too," Kate said, giving Kara a hug.

"How did you know when we were coming back?"

"Alex sent me a telegram this morning," Kate said, "So I thought I'd come and meet your train."

Kara turned to Alex. "Did you?"

"Thought you'd like to see a friendly face when we got back," Alex shrugged.

Kara let go of Kate only to throw her arms around Alex. "You always know what I need," she said.

"Miss Kane," Sara said.

"Captain Lance. Looks like Ireland treated you well."

"I needed the break."

"I know. I'm sorry for your loss."

Sara nodded.

"Now we are all going to get pies and chips and terrible coffee," Kara announced, her enthusiasm returned. "Kate, I have to tell you everything about Luthorsport. I made best friends with a dog called Caoimhe, and I will have to write down the spelling of that for you because it is crazy, and I made friends with Lena and I have to tell you everything about her."

"Well, we'd better go find a table then," Kate said.

"Oh, and thank-you for our clothes, because we pretty much had nothing, but Lena found some things like nighties and coats and hats, and we ordered some essentials to be sent from Galway, but that wasn't until after your parcel arrived and - "

"She's not going to stop until she gets food in her mouth, is she?" Sara asked as Kara continued to prattle on to Kate as they made their way across the concourse.

"Even then it's going to be hard to make her stop," Alex said. "You were right about her needing to see Kate as soon as we got here."

Sara shrugged and took Alex by the arm, "Sometimes all you need is your people."

…

Kara was hungry, cold and tired as she let herself back into the flat. She didn't bother turning on the lights as she could see well enough in the dark, and didn't want to see her reflection in the hall mirror, which would no doubt show her to be looking dirty and exhausted. Kara was about to flop onto the couch when she noticed Alex was lying there, bundled up in blankets.

"Alex? Alex, are you all right?" she asked, gently shaking Alex's shoulder.

Alex stirred and sat up. "…Fell asleep…" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Why didn't you just go to bed?" Kara asked. "You're not sick or anything?"

"I was waiting for you," Alex said. She felt around for the lamp switch and turned it on.

"You don't have to wait up for me," Kara said, getting herself a glass of water, relieved that Alex was all right.

"I've got something for you," Alex said, pulling a slightly crushed envelope out from under the cushions. "Thought you'd want to deliver it straight away."

"Deliver it?" Kara asked.

Alex smiled. "I may have promised it to Lena. I don't think she believed me, or she just pretended not to hear. But I - I vouched for her, and so did Sara."

Kara put her glass down and apprehensively took the envelope from Alex. "So this is…?"

"Travel papers and a job offer. She can choose not to accept them, but don't think that will be the case."

Kara stood holding the envelope in both hands. "What do I do?" she asked, feeling her heart rate increase.

"Go to her. Go to Luthorsport. Go now. It's still mostly dark, you'll probably reach Luthorsport just as the sun is coming up behind the hills. Go and get the girl, Kara."

"Alex, I - I'm…"

"I'm not blind and I am far from stupid," Alex said, standing up. "We've been back for nearly three weeks, and you can't get through a whole conversation without bringing her up. Take a coat and scarf, you can't go dressed like that."

Kara put the envelope down and allowed Alex to dress her in a standard-issue coat. "Alex, what if she…?"

"What if she, what, Kara?" Alex asked, wrapping Kara's red scarf around her neck and buttoning up the coat. "Lena said she didn't want to hurt anyone. The job is code-breaking. She'd be good at that. The details enclosed are fairly light on, but - "

"It's at Bletchley?" Kara asked.

"Do not give that location away. I'm pretty sure the documents don't state it outright. Just - let her decide. She will say yes, Kara."

Kara flung her arms around Alex. "I love you, Alex Danvers."

"I love you too," Alex grinned. "Now I'm going back to bed for a few hours. Try to be back around dinner time. You'll probably be needed again tonight."

Kara nodded, still holding Alex. "I love you so much."

"Go," Alex smiled, pulling Kara off her. "Don't make me say it again."

Kara tucked the envelope into her coat and hurried out of their flat, grinning from ear to ear, desperate to get into the sky.

Within minutes the familiar outline of the Luthorsport lighthouse was in Kara's view. It was drizzling rain and the town was silent as the clouds behind it slowly turned a lighter shade of grey. The golden streetlights were a welcome sight as Kara landed outside Lena's house. Through a small gap in the curtains of one of the rooms upstairs, Kara could see a line of lamplight, and decided that Lena must be awake.

Kara's heart was pounding in her chest as she knocked on the door, and a moment later broke into a grin as she heard Caoimhe barking.

"Calm down, Caoimhe, it's probably just the milkman. I tell you what, they better not be rationing milk or I'll - oh, Miss Danvers!"

"Hullo!" Kara grinned, looking at Aine.

Aine looked up and down the street. "What - how…? I - I guess you want to see Miss Luthor?"

"Yes, please," Kara said.

"You best come inside, miss," Aine said, holding the door open as Kara stepped into the hallway. "I'll see if Miss Luthor is up."

Caoimhe leapt up on Kara. "Who's the best dog? You are Caoimhe!" Kara gushed, bobbing down to pat Caoimhe with enthusiasm and kissing her head. "Yes you are! You are! I missed you so much, yes I did, because you're the best girl! Yes, Caoimhe. Yes you - "

"Kara?"

"Lena!" Kara grinned, standing up.

Lena stood halfway down the stairs, still in her dressing gown and slippers, her hair loose around her shoulders. "I - this is a surprise."

"I didn't have time to send a wire," Kara said.

"I trust everything is all right?" Lena had theorised that the only reason Kara would show up unannounced would be if something terrible had happened to Alex, but the look on Kara's face told her that nothing of that kind had happened.

Kara nodded. "Quite all right."

"Aine, Miss Danvers and I will take breakfast in my study," Lena said.

"Very good, Miss Luthor," Aine said, and disappeared down to the kitchen.

Lena walked down the rest of the stairs and led the way into her study. The fire was already burning and Lena turned on the lights. "How did you get here?" she asked.

"I flew," Kara said, her tummy rumbling at the promise of breakfast.

"You're kidding?"

"I'm not," Kara smiled.

"You can take off your coat. Make yourself at home."

"I, ah - " Kara unbuttoned a couple of buttons and held the coat open. "I haven't had time to change."

Lena's eyes went wide. "What - is that…?"

"Yep, it's the costume. I've been out being Supergirl all night, and when I got back to our place Alex gave me - oh! This is for you!" Kara reached inside her coat and pulled the envelope out. "Alex and Sara arranged this. For you."

Lena tentatively opened the enveloped while Kara buttoned her coat back up. "Kara, these are…"

"I know what they are."

Lena nodded. "Is this a job offer?" she asked, scanning over a letter.

"Yep."

"I - I don't want to hurt anyone. I won't take part in making any weapons or - "

"Oh, no, it's none of that. Alex knew that wasn't what you wanted. It's code-breaking. And it's not in London either, so you'd be relatively safe and you'd be able to take Caoimhe and - I, er, can't really say any more," Kara said, hoping she hadn't said too much already.

Lena put the papers aside. "Alex did this?"

Kara nodded. "She and Sara vouched for you. I'm sorry to say I'm just the delivery girl. I had no idea they were doing this, but Alex said she had promised you?"

Lena swallowed and nodded. "No one - I don't… no one has ever done anything like this for me. No one has ever wanted me."

"You're wanted now. By us. By me." Kara stepped forward and took Lena's hands in hers. Kara smiled. "I promised I'd come back."

Lena sniffed and blinked back tears. "I - I don't…"

"You deserve the world, Lena Luthor. Please let us help you. We're returning the favour, if you will."

Lena let go of Kara's hand to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry, you must think me so selfish. You've all gone to so much effort to do all this and I can't even say thank-you and I…"

"Don't have to say anything," Kara said, taking a tiny step even closer to Lena and gently putting her lips to Lena's. Lena leant in. Her lips were warm and soft, and Kara was aware that hers were cold and salty. Regardless, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Lena's waist.

"Thank-you," Lena said, pulling away to take a breath. "Kara Danvers, Supergirl, of all the people in the world to wash up in my town…"

"I couldn't think of anywhere better," Kara said.

"You showed up here begging for help, but you've helped me more than - " Lena's voice cracked.

"I think we can call it even," Kara said, leaning in to kiss Lena once more.

* * *

A/N: The end.

Thank-you very much for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed this story. The comments, favourites and follows are very much appreciated. I'm neither going to promise more from this universe, or say that's it completely, because at the moment I'm not sure.


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